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JAMES  V.  CHIXHJPEK  •£• 

•SV,     .„.  1£53  Walker  Ave^  Y     Ol¥ 
Oakland,  Calif,  -f1 


liCSB    LIBRARY 


L  IFE 


OF 


P.  T.    BARNUM 


WRITTEN     BY     HIMSELF, 


INCLUDING   HIS 


GOLDEN  RULES  FOR  MONEY-MAKING. 

BROUGHT      UP      TO     1888. 
ILLUSTRATED. 


" a  map  of  busy  life. 

Its  fluctuations  and  its  vast  concerns." 

'  And  see  what  I  can  show  in  this 
***** 
Strange  eventful  history." 

— SHAKESPEARE. 
The  noblest  art 

Is  that  of  making  others  happy. 

—P.  T.  BARNUM. 


BUFFALO : 
THE   COURIER   COMPANY,  PRINTERS. 

1888. 


IMPORTANT    NOTICE! 


AN  EXACT  FAC-SIMILE  OF  THIS  BOOK  SOLD  AT  COST  ! 
REDUCED  FROM  $1.50  TO  ONLY  FIFTY  CENTS  ! 

Desiring  to  bring  this  History  of  My  Life  (of  which  over  a  million 
copies  have  already  been  sold)  within  the  reach  of  the  poorest  purchaser, 
I  have  determined  to  have  them  sold  without  a  profit.  By  printing  many 
thousand  copies  at  one  time  I  have  brought  the  cost  down  to  FIFTY  cents, 
or  SIXTY  cents,  including  postage,  when  sent  by  mail.  Every  book  will 
be  printed  on  the  same  quality  of  paper,  have  the  same  binding,  the  same 
illustrations,  and  be,  in  fact,  a  perfect  foe-simile  of  this  volume. 

These  books  may  be  procured  by  mail  or  otherwise  from  Leggatt 
Brothers,  81  Chambers  street,  New  York,  H.  E.  Bowser,  Bridgeport,  Ct., 
and  in  the  tents  of  "  The  Greatest  Show  on  Earth." 

The  Public's  Obedient  Servant, 

P.  T.  BARNUM. 


N.  B. — This  book  is  not  copyrighted.     Any  and  all  persons  are  at  liberty 

to  publish  al  1  or  any  parts  of  it. 

P.  T.  BARNUM. 


©ocUco/tod 

to 


to 


wv 


PREFACE. 


WBITTEN  originally  in  1869,  this  book  is  my  Recollections  of  more  than 
Fifty  Busy  Years.  Few  men  in  civil  life  have  had  a  career  more  crowded 
with  incident,  enterprise,  and  various  intercourse  with  the  world  than 
mine.  With  the  alternations  of  success  and  defeat,  extensive  travel  in  this 
and  foreign  lands;  a  large  acquaintance  with  the  humble  and  honored; 
having  held  the  preeminent  place  among  all  who  have  sought  to  furnish 
healthful  entertainment  to  the  American  people,  and,  therefore,  having 
had  opportunities  for  garnering  an  ample  storehouse  of  incident  and  anec- 
dote, while,  at  the  same  time,  needing  a  sagacity,  energy,  foresight  and 
fortitude  rarely  required  or  exhibited  in  financial  affairs,  my  struggles  and 
experiences  (it  is  not  altogether  vanity  in  me  to  think)  cannot  be  without 
interest  to  my  fellow-countrymen. 

Various  leading  publishers  have  solicited  me  to  place  at  their  disposal 
my  Recollections  of  what  I  have  been,  and  seen,  and  done.  These  pro- 
posals, together  with  the  partiality  of  friends  and  kindred,  have  constrained 
me  to  put  in  a  permanent  form  what,  it  seems  to  me,  may  be  instructive, 
entertaining  and  profitable. 

Thirty  years  since,  for  the  purpose,  principally,  of  advancing  my 
interests  as  proprietor  of  the  American  Museum,  I  gave  to  the  press  some 
personal  reminiscences  and  sketches.  They  were,  however,  very  hastily, 
and  therefore  imperfectly,  prepared.  Though  including,  necessarily,  in 
common  with  them,  some  of  the  facts  of  my  early  life,  in  order  to  make 
this  autobiography  a  complete  and  continuous  narrative,  yet,  as  the  latter 
part  of  my  life  has  been  the  more  eventful,  and  my  recollections  so  various 
and  abundant,  this  book  is  new  and  independent  of  the  former.  It  is  the 
matured  and  leisurely  reviewing  of  more  than  half  a  century  of  work  and 
struggle,  and  final  success,  in  spite  of  fraud  and  fire — the  story  of  which 
is  blended  with  amusing  anecdotes,  funny  passages,  felicitous  jokes,  cap- 
tivating narratives,  novel  experiences,  and  remarkable  interviews — the 
sunny  and  sombre  so  intermingled  as  not  only  to  entertain,  but  convey 
useful  lessons  to  all  classes  of  readers. 


/I  PEBFACB. 

And  above  and  beyond  this  personal  satisfaction,  I  have  thought  that  the 
review  of  a  life,  with  the  wide  contrasts  of  humble  origin  and  high  and 
honorable  success;  of  most  formidable  obstacles  overcome  by  courage  and 
constancy;  of  affluence  that  had  been  patiently  won,  suddenly  wrenched 
away,  and  triumphantly  regained — would  be  a  help  and  incentive  to  the 
young  man,  struggling,  it  may  be,  with  adverse  fortune,  or,  at  the  start, 
looking  into  the  future  with  doubt  or  despair. 

All  autobiographies  are  necessarily  egotistical.  If  my  pages  are  as 
plentifully  sprinkled  with  "I's,"  as  was  the  chief  ornament  of  Hood's 
peacock,  "  who  thought  he  had  the  eyes  of  Europe  on  his  tail,"  I  can  only 
say,  that  the  "  I's  "  are  essential  to  the  story  I  have  told.  It  has  been  my 
purpose  to  narrate,  not  the  life  of  another,  but  that  career  in  which  I  was 
the  principal  actor. 

There  is  an  almost  universal,  and  not  unworthy  curiosity  to  learn  the 
methods  and  measures,  the  ups  and  downs,  the  strifes  and  victories,  the 
mental  and  moral  personnel  of  those  who  have  taken  an  active  and  promi- 
nent part  in  human  affairs.  But  an  autobiography  has  attractions  and 
merits  superior  to  those  of  a  "life"  written  by  another,  who,  however 
intimate  with  its  subject,  cannot  know  all  that  helps  to  give  interest  and 
accuracy  to  the  narrative,  or  completeness  to  the  character.  The  story  from 
the  actor's  own  lips  has  always  a  charm  it  can  never  have  when  told  by 
another. 

That  my  narrative  is  interspersed  with  amusing  incidents,  and  even  the 
recital  of  some  very  practical  jokes,  is  simply  because  my  natural  disposi- 
tion impels  me  to  look  upon  the  brighter  side  of  life,  and  I  hope  my 
humorous  experiences  will  entertain  my  readers  as  much  as  they  were 
enjoyed  by  myself.  And  if  this  record  of  trials  and  triumphs,  struggles  and 
successes,  shall  stimulate  any  to  the  exercise  of  that  integrity,  energy, 
industry,  and  courage  in  their  callings,  which  will  surely  lead  to  happiness 
and  prosperity,  one  main  object  I  have  in  yielding  to  the  solicitations  of 
my  friends  and  my  publishers  will  have  been  accomplished. 

P.  T.  BARNUM 

WALDEMEKB,  BRIDGEPORT,  CONN.,  1888 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I.— My  Birth  -Going  to  School— First  Visit  to  New  York— My  Landed  Property 
—Trading  Morals— The  Bethel  Meeting- house— Sunday  School  and  Bible  Class— The 
"  One  Thing  Needful," 17 

CHAPTER  EL— Death  of  my  Grandmother— My  Father— His  Death— Beginning  the  World 
Barefooted— The  Tin  Ware  and  Green  Bottle  Lottery—"  Charity  "  Hallett— A  Novel  Fur 
Trade— Country  Store  Experiences— Old  "  Uncle  Bibblns," 23 

CHAPTER  III.— My  Clerkship  in  Brooklyn— Opening  a  Porter-house— Selling  Out— My  Clerk- 
ship in  New  York— My  Habits— In  Bethel  Once  More— Beginning  Business  on  My  Own 
Account— The  Lottery  Business— Wits  and  Wags— First  Appeanmce  at  the  Bar— A  Model 
Love-letter, 27 

CHAPTER  IV.— Pleasure  Visit  to  Philadelphia— My  Marriage— A  New  Field— My  Editorial 
Career — Danbury  Jail— My  Liberation — Removal  to  New  York — Keeping  a  Boarding- 
house,  33 

CHAPTER  V.— The  Amusement  Business  —  Joice  Heth — Beginning  Life  as  a  Showman- 
Second  Step  in  the  Show  Line — Connecting  Myself  with  a  Circus — An  Abusive  Clergyman 
—A  Terrible  Practical  Joko, 87 

CHAPTER  VI. — An  Unreasonable  Landlord — Turning  the  Tables— Leaving  the  Circus— My 
First  Traveling  Company — Preaching  to  the  People — Escapes  from  Danger — Outwitting 
a  Sheriff—"  Lady  Hayes' " — Joe  Pentland  as  a  Savage — A  Nonplussed  Legerdemain  Per- 
former—Disbanding my  Company — A  New  Partnership —The  Steamboat  "Ceres"— 
Sadden  Marriage  on  Board— Arrival  at  New  Orleans, 43 

CHAPTER  VTL— Advertising  for  an  Associate — A  New  Business — Swindled  by  my  Partner- 
Diamond,  the  Dancer — A  New  Company — Desertions— Success  at  New  Orleans — Back 
to  New  York— From  Hand  to  Month— Fortune  Opening  Her  Door— The  American 
Museum, 50 

CHAPTER  Vin.— I  Become  Proprietor  of  the  American  Museum — Extraordinary  Advertising 
— Incidents  and  Anecdotes — Pleasing  my  Patrons — A  Wilderness  of  Wonders — Niagara 
Falls  with  Real  Water— The  Fejee  Mermaid— Wholesale  Advertising  Again— Drnmmond 
Lights, 55 

CHAPTER  IX.— The  Most  Popular  Place  of  Amusement  in  the  World— Afternoon  and  Holi- 
day Performances — Fourth  of  July  Flags — Victory  Over  the  Vestrymen — St.  Patrick's 
Day  in  the  Morning — Inponring  of  Money — Zoological  Eruption — Baby  Shows — Grand 
Buffalo  Hunt— The  Woolly  Horse— American  Indians— P.  T.  Barnnm  Exhibited— A  Curi- 
ous Spinster, 62 

CHAPTER  X. — Peale's  Museum — Mysterious  Mesmerism— The  Rival  Museums — My  Mania— 
My  First  Interview  with  Charles  S.  Stratton— General  Tom  Thumb  in  New  York— An 
Apt  Pupil— Free  From  Debt— In  Search  of  a  New  Field— Arrival  at  Liverpool— Exhibition 
of  General  Tom  Thumb  in  Liverpool, 70 

CHAPTER  XI.— Arrival  in  London— Enormous  Success— Daily  Levees  for  the  Nobility  and 
Gentry— At  Buckingham  Palace— A  Royal  Reception— Favorable  Impression— Amusing 
Incidents  of  the  Visit— Second  Visit  to  the  Queen— The  General's  Watch— Napoleon  and 
the  Duke  of  W«llingtoa— Third  Visit  to  the  Queen, 74 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XII.— In  France— The  General  and  Party  in  Paris— Visit  to  King  Louis  Phillippe— 
A  Splendid  Present — Long  Champa— The  General's  Equipage — All  Paris  in  a  Furor — 
Second,  Third  and  Fourth  Visits  to  the  King  of  the  French— "Tom  Ponce"  Every- 
where—The General  as  an  Actor, 81 

CHAPTER  Xin. — In  Belgium— Professor  Pinte — At  Brussels— Presentation  to  King  Leopold 
—The  General's  Jewels  Stolen— The  Field  of  Waterloo— An  Accident— Losing  an  Exhi- 
bition—The Custom  of  the  Country— How  Kelics  are  Planted  at  Waterloo— From  Brussels 
to  London, 83 

CHAPTER  XTV.— In  England  Again — Levees  in  Egyptian  Hall — Going  to  America— Samuel 
Rogers — An  Astonished  Railway  Superintendent— Business  and  Pleasure— Albert  Smith— 
Stratford-on-Avon— Albert  Smith  as  a  Showman — The  Road  from  Warwick  to  Coventry 
—The  Yankee  Go-ahead  Principle, 87 

CHAPTER  XV.— The  Wizard  of  the  North— Second  Visit  to  the  United  States—"  The  Rules 
of  the  Ship  "—Three  Years  in  Europe— Warm  Personal  Friends— Our  Last  Performance 
in  Dublin— Departure  for  America — Notes — Deaths  of  Friends, 93 

CHAPTER  XVI.— Renewing  the  Lease  of  the  Museum  Building— Tom  Thumb  in  America- 
Tour  Through  the  Country — Ceasing  to  be  a  Traveling  Showman — Return  to  Bridgeport 
— Search  for  a  Home — Building  and  Completion  of  Iranistan— The  Baltimore  and  Phila- 
delphia Museums— My  Agricultural  and  Arborcultural  Doings, 95 

CHAPTER  XVII.— The  Jenny  Lind  Engagement— Musical  Notes  in  Wall  street— A  Friend 
in  Need 100 

CHAPTER  XVm. — Arrival  of  Jenny  Lind — Tremendous  Throng  at  the  Wharf—"  Welcome 
to  America"— The  Prize  Ode  by  Bayard  Taylor— First  Concert  in  Castle  Garden- 
Unbounded  Enthusiasm, 105 

CHAPTER  XIX.— Managing  Public  Opinion  — Miss  Lind's  Charities  —  The  Nightingale  at 
Iranistan— Avoiding  Crowds— In  Philadelphia,  Baltimore  and  Washington— Visit  to  Mt. 
Vernon — Christmas  and  New  Year — We  go  to  Havana— A  Happy  Month  in  Cuba,  .  Ill 

CHAPTER  XX. — A  Magnificent  Triumph — Benefit  for  the  Hospitals — Vivalla  and  his  Dog- 
Voyage  to  New  Orleans — The  Editor  cf  the  New  York  Herald  on  Board— Arrival  at  the 
Crescent  City— Up  the  Mississippi — Amusements  on  Board,  ...  117 

CHAPTER  XXI.— Arrival  at  St.  Louis — A  Surprising  Proposition— Temperance  Lecture — 
Sol.  Smith— Unique  Dedication— Jenny  Lind's  Character  and  Charities, 123 

CHAPTER  XXII— Visit  to  the  "  Hermitage  "—"April-fool "  Fun— The  Mammoth  Cave— Ruse 
at  Cincinnati— Rt  turn  to  New  York— The  Final  Concerts  in  Castle  Garden  and  Metro- 
politan Hall — Jenny's  Concerts  on  Her  Own  Account— Her  Marriage  to  Mr.  Otto  Gold- 
schmidt — At  Home  Again — Total  Receipts  of  the  Concerts, 127 

CHAPTER  XXIII.— Another  Venture— General  Tom  Thumb— Elephant  Plowing— Side-shows 
and  Various  Enterprises— Catherine  Hayes— Iranistan  on  Fire— My  Eldest  Daughter's 
Marriage, 138 

CHAPTER  XXIV.— Vacation  at  Home— Country  Agricultural  Society— Philosophy  of  Hum- 
bug—A Chop-fallen  Ticket-seller— A  Deluded  Hack-driver— Pequonnock  Bank— The 
illustrated  News— The  Crystal  Palace 137 

CHAPTER  XXV.— The  East  Bridgeport  Enterprise— Clock  Company  in  Litchfield— The 
Jerome  Clock  Company— A  Rained  Man— Paying  Honest  Debts— My  Failure— Down  in 
the  Depths, 143 

CHAPTER  XXVI.— Friends  to  the  Rescue— Citizens'  Meeting  in  Bridgeport— My  Letter  on 
the  Situation— The  Silver  Lining  to  the  Cloud— Our  New  Home  in  New  York,  .  .  148 

CHAPTER  XXVII. — Sale  of  the  Mnsenm  Collection — Supplementary  Proceedings  of  my  Cred- 
itors—The Summer  Season  on  Long  Island— A  Black  Whale  Pays  my  Summer's  Board 
—The  Wheeler  and  Wilson  Sewing  Machine  Company  Remove  to  East  Bridgeport— The 
Cause  of  my  Ruin  Promises  to  be  my  Redemption— Setting  Sail  for  England,  ...  154 


CONTENTS.  Xi 

CHAPTBR  XXVIII.— Old  Friend*  in  Old  England— Otto  Goldschmtdt  and  Jenny  Lind  Gold 
•chmidt— My  Exhibitions  in  England, 167 

CHAPTER  XXIX.— From  London  to  Baden-Baden — Strasbourg — Scene  in  a  German  Custom- 
house—Golden Prices  for  the  General— A  Call  from  the  King  of  Holland— Down  the 
Rhine— Departure  for  Holland,  .  .  . 160 

CHAPTBB  XXX.— The  Finest  and  Flattest  Country  in  the  World— Habits  and  Customs— 
The  Hague— August  Belmont— Back  to  England  — I  Return  again  to  America— Fun  on 
the  Voyage— Cold  Shoulders  in  New  York— Iranistan  Burned  to  the  Ground,  ...  103 

CHAPTER  XXXI.— Back  Once  More  to  England— Tour  Through  Scotland  and  Wales— How 
I  Came  to  Lecture— How  to  Make  Money  and  How  to  Keep  it— Lecturing  in  the  Prov- 
inces,   168 

CHAPTER  XXXn.— An  English  Yankee— Dinner  to  Tom  Thumb  and  Commodore  Nutt— 
Measuring  a  Monster — The  Steam-engines  "  Barnum  "  and  "  Charity," 192 

CHAPTER  XXXIH. — At  Home — Barnum  on  his  Feet  Again— Re-purchase  of  the  Museum— 
My  Reception  by  my  Friends — Museum  Visitors — Old  and  Fast  Friends, 196 

CHAPTER  XXXIV.— A  Remarkable  Character— Old  Grizzly  Adams— Tour  of  the  Bear-tamer 
Through  the  Country— A  Life  and  Death  Struggle  for  a  Wager— Old  Adams  Wins— His 
Death— The  Prince  of  Wales  Visits  the  Museum— I  Call  on  the  Prince  in  Boston— The 
Museum  Flourishing, 208 

CHAPTER  XXXV.— East  Bridgeport— Another  New  Home— Lindencroft— Progress  of  my 
Pet  City— Inducements  to  Settlers — Situation  of  Bridgeport — Its  Advantages  and  Pros- 
pects,   207 

CHAPTER  XXXVI.— More  About  the  Museum— My  First  Whaling  Expedition— Transporting 
Living  Whales  by  Land— The  First  Hippopotamus  in  America— Commodore  Nutt— Indian 
Chiefs, 211 

CHAPTER  XXXVII.— Miss  Lavinia  Warren— The  Little  Commodore  in  Love— Tom  Thumb 
Smitten— Jealousy  of  the  General— Miss  Warren  Impressed — Popping  the  Question — The 
Engagement— The  Wedding— A  Spicy  Letter— Grand  Reception  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stratton 
—The  Commodore  in  Search  of  a  Green  Country  Girl, 217 

CHAPTER  XXXVHI.— My  Political  Principles— Lindencroft— My  Election  to  the  Legislature 
—My  War  on  Railroad  Monopolies— The  XTV.  Amendment, 22V 

CHAPTER  XXXIX. — Burning  of  the  American  Museum — A  Public  Calamity — Intention  to 
Retire  to  Private  Life — The  New  Up-town  Museum, 241 

CHAPTER  XL.— Propositions  for  a  New  Capital  of  Connecticut— The  Railroad  Controversy— 
My  Victory— Again  Elected  to  the  Legislature— Friends  at  Lindencroft,  .  ,  .  .247 

CHAPTER  XLL— The  American  Museum  Lease— Its  Value— Bennett  of  the  Herald  Buys  it 
for  $200,000— The  Herald's  Influence  and  Hard  Experience— Bennett  Refuses  my  Adver 
tisements — Bennett  Humbled— Damage  to  Bennett's  Establishment — Peace,  .  .  .  253 

CHAPTER  XLJI.— At  the  West— A  Ride  on  a  Locomotive— Tricks  to  Secure  Seats  in  the 
Ladies'  Car— How  I  Became  a  Teetotaler— Lecturing  Throughout  the  Country,  .  .  257 

CHAPTER  XLIII.— A  Gigantic  Amusement  Company  —  Curiosities  from  Everywhere— A 
Superb  Menagerie— Destruction  of  my  Second  Museum  by  Fire— Foot  Races  at  the  White 
Mountains, t  gg4 

CHAPTER  XLTV.— Popular  Superstitions— Number  Thirteen— Thirteen  in  Every  Hotel,  269 

CHATTER  XLV.— Interest  in  Public  Improvements— The  Eye  of  Faith— Opening  of  Sea- 
Side  Park,  274 

CHAPTER  XLVI.— Plans  for  the  Public  Benefit  in  Bridgeport— Sale  of  Lindencroft— Living 
in  a  Farm-hoube—  VVuldemere 27j 


Xfl  CONTENTS. 

CHAFTIB  XL VI I. — A  New  Experience — "Doing  Nothing" — A  Failure  —  Excitement  I>» 
manded— Vtoit  of  English  Friends— I  Show  Them  Our  Country— Trip  to  California—Salt 
Lake  City— Brigham  Young — Sacramento  and  San  Francisco — Admiral  Dot — Wild  Buffalo 
Hunt  In  Kansas— My  Great  Traveling  Show— Trip  to  Colorado— Fourteenth  Street  Hip- 
podrome— A  Brilliant  Audience— Departure  for  the  South — New*  of  the  Conflagration- 
Speech  at  the  Academy — An  Expensive  Exhibition— A  Pleasant  Episode — An  Ocean 
Voyage— The  Vienna  Exhibition— Death  of  Mrs.  Barnnm, .  .  281 

CHAPTER  XLVHL— The  Roman  Hippodrome— An  Enthusiastic  Reception— Resting  at  Wai- 
demere— A  Complimentary  Dinner— Interesting  Letters  and  Speeches, 299 

CHAPTER  XLEX.— Success  of  my  Traveling  Hippodrome  —  My  Second  Marriage  —  P.  T. 
Barnnm  Exhibiting  a  Live  King — Elected  Mayor  of  Bridgeport — The  Centennial — Pro- 
fessor Donaldson— Close  of  the  Season— The  Hippodrome  Sold  at  Auction— The  New 
Traveling  Show— My  Valedictory  Message  as  Mayor  of  Bridgeport, 80ft 

CHAPTER  L.— Breakfast  with  Lord  Rosebery  and  Mr.  Tupper— My  Show  in  Nova  Scotia 
and  elsewhere — My  New  Book  "Lion  Jack" — Death  of  my  Youngest  Daughter— My 
Visit  to  England — Lecturing  there — The  London  World's  Description  of  my  Home  anil 
Habits  in  Bridgeport— Fatal  Accident  to  the  Advertisers  of  my  Great  Show— Visit  to 
Colorado — My  third  Election  to,  and  Doings  in,  the  Connecticut  Legislature — Building  a 
Dyke— Byronic  Poetry  thereon— My  fourth  Election  to  the  General  Assembly  of  Con- 
necticut,   315 

CHAPTER  LI. — Bergh  Vanquished— Transformation  Scene — Baby  Elephant — The  Great  Alii 
ance — Winter  Quarters  of  the  Great  Barnum-London  Show— Valley  of  the  Shadow  of 
Death — Four  Pullman  Carloads  of  Editors — Torch-light  Procession  and  Grand  Opening 
— Testimonials  from  Garfleld  and  Arthur — My  Voyage  to  Europe— Presentation  of  Foun- 
tain to  Bethel 823 

CHAPTER  LIL— Another  Baby  Elephant— Jumbo,  the  Greatest  of  the  Great— Visit  to 
England— Irving  Dinner — George  Augustus  Sala— Barnum  more  than  half  English,  330 

CHAPTER  LHL—  Visit  to  Europe— Sir  Charles  Lees— Mackay,  the  Millionaire— Death  of  Tom 
Thumb— Enormous  Show  Receipts — "  Barnum  in  Britishland  " — Almost  my  Obituary—- 
The Sacred  White  Elephant— The  Show  in  1884— How  a  Mean  Town  got  Left— Opening 
of  the  Barnum  Natural  History  Museum,  at  Tuft's  College,  Boston — I  offer  Gen.  Grant 
One  Hundred  Thousand  Dollars  and  Valuable  Inducement— Reception  of  Letter  from 
Burmah  addressed,  "  Mr.  Barnum,  America." , 335 

CHAPTER  LIV.— The  Show  in  1885— Elephant  Albert  Sentenced  to  Death  and  Shot— Death 
of  Jumbo— His  Skin  Stuffed  and  His  Skeleton  prepared  for  Exhibition— Jumbo's  Size- 
Purchase  of  Alice,  Jumbo's  Widow— I  visit  the  Show  incognito— Withdrawal  of  my 
Partners,  Messrs.  Hutchinson,  Cole  and  Cooper— Death  of  Jenny  Lind,  ....  3-14 

CHAPTER  LV.— The  Church  and  Circus— The  Mission  of  the  Circus— Morality  of  Employees 
—Speaking  in  Church— Indorsed  by  the  Clergy  and  Religious  Press— Bust  for  the  Smith- 
sonian Institute — Mr.  Henry  Bergh's  Indorsement, 348 

CHAPTER  LVI— Burning  of  the  Winter  Quarters  at  Bridgeport,  Conn.— Mrs.  Gilligan  and 
the  Lion— Death  of  the  White  Elephant  and  Alice— Growth  of  the  City  of  Bridgeport- 
Inauguration  of  Bridgeport  Hospital— I  give  two  Gold  Prize  Medals  annually  to  Students 
in  Bridgeport  High  School— Opening  of  Sea  Side  Institute— My  Gift  to  Sea  Side  Park,  352 


1.  PORTRAIT  OP  P.  T.  BARNUM Frontispiece. 

2.  MY  BIRTHPLACE 17 

3  PHINEAS  TAYLOR 24 

4.  MY  PROPERTY  AND  MY  TENANT 32 

5.  MY  DELIVERY  FROM  IMPRISONMENT 36 

6.  THE  COWARD  AND  THE  "BRAVE" 40 

7.  VICTORY  OVER  VESTRYMEN 48 

8.  SQUALLS  AND  BREEZES 56 

9.  THE  AUTHOR  TRAINING  TOM  THUMB 72 

10.  TOM  THUMB  AND  THE  POODLE 70 

11.  ROYAL  HONORS  TO  THE  GENERAL 81 

12.  MANURE  CART  EXPRESS 85 

13.  PUTMEINIRONS 88 

14.  IRANISTAN 97 

15.  PORTRAITS  OF  JENNY  LIND  AND  P.  T.  BARNUM  IN  1851 100 

16.  WELCOME  TO  JENNY  LIND 105 

17.  THE  PRINCE  IN  THE  MUSEUM 112 

18.  THE  ITALIAN  AND  HIS  DOG 120 

19.  ELEPHANTINE  AGRICULTURE 132 

20.  MOUNTAIN  GROVE  CEMETERY 144 

•21.  THE  "  CUSTOMS  "  OF  THE  COUNTRY 156 

22.  THE  GREAT  DUKE  AND  THE  LITTLE  GENERAL 168 

23.  THE  MUSEUM  BUILDING 180 

24.  "THE  LONG  AND  SHORT  OF  IT" 193 

25.  GRIZZLY  ADAMS  AND  HIS  FAMILY 200 

26.  EAST  BRIDGEPORT 208 

27.  CAPTURING  WHITE  WHALES 216 

28.  THE  FAIRY  WEDDING  GROUP 225 

29.  MARRIAGE  IN  MINIATURE 228 

30.  ALARM  AT  LINDENCROFT 240 

31.  THE  GREAT  UNKNOWN 252 

32.  AFTER  THE  FIRE 264 

33.  SEA  SIDE  PARK 276 

34.  WALDEMERE 278 

35.  BARNUM  FIVE  SECONDS  AHEAD 300 

36.  BRONZE  FOUNTAIN  PRESENTED  TO  MY  NATIVE  TOWN 328 

37.  WINTER  QUARTERS  OF  THE  GREAT  TLONDON-BARNUM  SHOW 330 

38.  PROPOSED  CHANGE  OF  ENGLISH  COAT-OF-ARMS 33* 

39.  P.  T.  BARNUM'S  MOTHER,  IRENA 88 

40.  P.  T.  BARNUM'S  WIFE,  CHARITY 288 

41.  PRIVATE  SHOW  TO  A  SICK  BOY 287 

42.  BURNING  OF  WINTER  QUARTERS 359 


CHAPTER   I. 

EARLY    LIFE. 

1  WAS  born  in  the  town  of  Bethel,  in  the  State  of  Connecticut,  July  5, 1810.  My 
name,  Phineas  Taylor,  is  derived  from  my  maternal  grandfather,  who  was  a 
great  wag  in  his  way,  and  who,  as  I  was  his  first  grandchild,  handed  over  to  his 
daughter  Irena,  my  mother,  at  my  christening,  a  gift-deed,  in  my  behalf,  of  five 
acres  of  land,  called  "Ivy  Island,"  situated  in  that  part  of  the  parish  of  Bethel 
known  as  the  "Plum  Trees." 

My  father,  Philo  Barnum,  was  the  son  of  Ephraim  Barnum,  of  Bethel,  who 
was  a  captain  in  the  revolutionary  war.  My  father  was  a  tailor,  a  farmer,  and 
sometimes  a  tavern-keeper,  and  my  advantages  and  disadvantages  were  such  as 
fall  to  the  general  run  of  farmers'  boys.  I  drove  cows  to  and  from  the  pasture, 
shelled  corn,  weeded  the  garden;  as  I  grew  larger  I  rode  horse  for  ploughing, 
turned  and  raked  hay;  in  due  time  I  handled  the  shovel  and  the  hoe,  and  when  I 
could  do  so  I  went  to  school 

I  was  six  years  old  when  I  began  to  go  to  school,  and  the  first  date  I  remember 
inscribing  upon  my  writing-book  was  1818.  The  ferule,  in  those  days,  was  the 
assistant  school-master.  I  was  a  willing,  and,  I  think,  a  pretty  apt  scholar.  In 
arithmetic  I  was  unusually  ready  and  accurate,  and  I  remember,  at  the  age  of 
ten  years,  being  called  out  of  bed  one  night  by  my  teacher,  who  had  wagered 
with  a  neighbor  that  I  could  calculate  the  correct  number  of  feet  in  a  load  of 
wood  in  five  minutes.  The  dimensions  given,  I  figured  out  the  result  in  less  than 
two  minutes,  to  the  great  delight  of  my  teacher  and  to  the  equal  astonishment  of 
nis  neighbor. 

My  organ  of  "acquisitiveness"  was  manifest  at  an  early  age.  Before  I  was 
five  years  of  age  I  began  to  accumulate  pennies  and  "four-pences,"  and  when  I 
was  six  years  old  my  capital  amounted  to  a  sum  sufficient  to  exchange  for  a  sil- 
ver dollar,  the  possession  of  which  made  me  feel  far  richer  than  I  have  ever  since 
felt  in  the  world. 

Nor  did  my  dollar  long  remain  alone.  As  I  grew  older  I  earned  ten  cents 
a  day  for  riding  the  horse  which  led  the  ox-team  in  ploughing,  and  on  holi- 
days and  "training  days,"  instead  of  spending  money,  I  earned  it.  I  was  a 
small  peddler  of  molasses  candy  (of  home  make),  ginger-bread,  cookies  and  cherry 
rum,  and  I  generally  found  myself  a  dollar  or  two  richer  at  the  end  of  a  holiday 
than  I  was  at  the  beginning.  By  the  time  Ins  twelve  years  old,  besides  other 
property,  I  was  the  owner  of  a  sheep  and  a  calf,  and  should  soon,  no  doubt,  have 
become  a  small  Croesus,  had  not  my  father  kindly  permitted  me  to  purchase  my 
own  clothing,  which  somewhat  reduced  my  little  store. 

When  I  was  nearly  twelve  years  old  I  made  my  first  visit  to  the  metropolis. 
It  happened  in  this  wise :  Late  one  afternoon  in  January,  1822,  Mr.  Daniel 
Brown,  of  Southbury,  Connecticut,  arrived  at  my  father's  tavern,  in  Bethel, 
with  some  fat  cattle  he  was  driving  to  New  York  to  sell,  and  put  up  for  the  night. 
After  supper  hearing  Mr.  Brown  say  to  my  father  that  he  intended  to  buy  more 

17 


18  EARLY    LIFE. 

cattle,  and  that  he  would  be  glad  to  hire  a  boy  to  assist  in  driving  them,  I  im 
mediately  besought  my  father  to  secure  the  situation  for  me,  and  he  did  so.  My 
mother's  consent  was  gained,  and  at  daylight  next  morning,  I  started  on  foot  in 
the  midst  of  a  heavy  snow  storm  to  help  drive  the  cattle.  Before  reaching  Ridge- 
field,  I  was  sent  on  horseback  after  a  stray  ox,  and,  in  galloping,  the  horse  fell 
and  my  ankle  was  sprained.  I  suffered  severely,  but  did  not  complain  lest  my 
employer  should  send  me  back.  We  arrived  at  New  York,  in  three  or  four  days, 
and  put  up  at  the  Bull's  Head  Tavern,  where  we  were  to  stay  a  week  while 
the  drover  disposed  of  his  cattle.  It  was  an  eventful  week  for  me.  Before  I  left 
borne  my  mother  had  given  me  a  dollar  which  I  supposed  would  supply  every 
want  that  heart  could  wish.  My  first  outlay  was  for  oranges  which  I  was  told 
were  four  pence  apiece,  and  as  "four  pence"  in  Connecticut  was  six  cents,  I 
offered  ten  cents  for  two  oranges,  which  was  of  course  readily  taken  ;  and  thus, 
instead  of  saving  two  cents,  as  I  thought,  I  actually  paid  two  cents  more  than 
the  price  demanded.  I  then  bought  two  more  oranges,  reducing  my  capital  to 
eighty  cents.  Thirty-one  cents  was  the  "charge"  for  a  small  gun  which  would 
"go  off "  and  send  a  stick  some  little  distance,  and  this  gun  I  bought.  Amusing 
myself  with  this  toy  in  the  bar-room  of  the  Bull's  Head,  the  arrow  happened  to 
hit  the  bar-keeper,  who  forthwith  came  from  behind  the  counter  and  shook  me, 
and  soundly  boxed  my  ears,  telling  me  to  put  that  gun  out  of  the  way  or  he 
would  put  it  into  the  fire.  I  sneaked  to  my  room,  put  my  treasure  under  the 
pillow,  and  went  out  for  another  visit  to  the  toy  shop. 

There  I  invested  six  cents  in  "torpedoes,"  with  which  I  intended  to  astonish 
my  schoolmates  in  Bethel.  I  could  not  refrain,  however,  from  experimenting 
upon  the  guests  of  the  hotel,  which  I  did  when  they  were  going  in  to  dinner.  I 
threw  two  of  the  torpedoes  against  the  wall  of  the  hall  through  which  the  guests 
were  passing,  and  the  immediate  results  were  as  follows :  two  loud  reports, — 
astonished  guests, — irate  landlord, — discovery  of  the  culprit,  and  summary  pun- 
ishment— for  the  landlord  immediately  floored  me  with  a  single  blow  with  his 
open  hand,  and  said  : 

"  There,  you  little  greenhorn,  see  if  that  will  teach  you  better  than  to  explode 
your  infernal  fire-crackers  in  my  house  again." 

The  lesson  was  sufficient  if  not  entirely  satisfactory.  I  deposited  the  balance 
of  the  torpedoes  with  my  gun,  and  as  a  solace  for  my  wounded  feelings  I  again 
visited  the  toy  shop,  where  I  bought  a  watch,  breastpin  and  top,  leaving  but 
eleven  cents  of  my  original  dollar. 

The  following  morning  found  me  again  at  the  fascinating  toy  shop,  where  I 
saw  a  beautiful  knife  with  two  blades,  a  gimlet,  and  a  corkscrew, — a  whole 
carpenter  shop  in  miniature,  and  all  for  thirty-one  cents.  But,  alas!  I  had  only 
eleven  cents.  Have  that  knife  I  must,  however,  and  so  I  proposed  to  the  shop- 
woman  to  take  back  the  top  and  breastpin  at  a  slight  deduction,  and  with  my 
eleven  cents  to  let  me  have  the  knife.  The  kind  creature  consented,  and  this 
makes  memorable  my  first  "swap."  Some  fine  and  nearly  white  molasses  candy 
then  caught  my  eye,  and  I  proposed  to  trade  the  watch  for  its  equivalent  in  candy. 
The  transaction  was  made  and  the  candy  was  so  delicious  that  before  night  my 
gun  was  absorbed  in  the  same  way.  The  next  morning  the  torpedoes  "went  off  " 
in  the  same  direction,  and  before  night  even  my  beloved  knife  was  similarly 
exchanged.  My  money  and  my  goods  all  gone,  I  traded  two  pocket  handker- 
chiefs and  an  extra  pair  of  stockings  I  was  sure  I  should  not  want  for  nine  more 
rolls  of  molasses  candy,  and  then  wandered  about  the  city  disconsolate,  sighing 
because  there  was  no  more  molasses  candy  to  conquer. 


EAELY  LIFE.  19 

I  doubt  not  that  in  these  first  wanderings  about  the  city  I  often  passed  the 
corner  of  Broadway  and  Ann  street — never  dreaming  of  the  stir  I  was  destined 
at  a  future  day  to  make  in  that  locality  as  proprietor  and  manager  of  the 
American  Museum. 

After  wandering,  gazing  and  wondering  for  a  week,  Mr.  Brown  took  me  in 
his  sleigh  and  on  the  evening  of  the  following  day  we  arrived  in  Bethel  I  had 
a  thousand  questions  to  answer,  and  for  a  long  time  I  was  quite  a  lion  among  my 
mates  because  I  had  seen  the  great  metropolis.  My  brothers  and  sisters,  how- 
ever, were  much  disappointed  at  my  not  bringing  them  something  from  my 
dollar,  and  when  my  mother  examined  my  wardrobe  and  found  two  pocket 
handkerchiefs  and  one  pair  of  stockings  missing  she  whipped  me  and  sent  me  to 
bed.  Thus  ingloriously  terminated  my  first  visit  to  New  York. 

Previous  to  my  visit  to  New  York,  I  think  it  was  in  1820,  when  I  was  ten  years 
of  age,  I  made  my  first  expedition  to  my  landed  property,  "  Ivy  Island."  From 
the  time  when  I  was  four  years  old  I  was  continually  hearing  of  this  "  property." 
My  grandfather  always  spoke  of  me  (in  my  presence)  to  the  neighbors  and  to 
strangers  as  the  richest  child  in  town,  since  I  owned  the  whole  of  "  Ivy  Island," 
one  of  the  most  valuable  farms  in  the  State.  My  father  and  mother  frequently 
reminded  me  of  my  wealth  and  hoped  I  would  do  something  for  the  family  when 
I  attained  my  majority.  The  neighbors  professed  to  fear  that  I  might  refuse  to 
play  with  their  children  because  I  had  inherited  so  large  a  property. 

These  constant  allusions,  for  several  years,  to  "  Ivy  Island  "  excited  at  once  my 
pride  and  my  curiosity  and  stimulated  me  to  implore  my  father's  permission  to 
visit  my  property.  At  last,  he  promised  I  should  do  so  in  a  few  days,  as  we 
should  be  getting  some  hay  near  "  Ivy  Island."  The  wished  for  day  arrived  and 
my  father  told  me  that  as  we  were  to  mow  an  adjoining  meadow,  I  might  visit 
my  property  in  company  with  the  hired  man  during  the  "  nooning."  My  grand- 
father reminded  me  that  it  was  to  his  bounty  I  was  indebted  for  this  wealth,  and 
that  had  not  my  name  been  Phineas  I  might  never  have  been  proprietor  of  "  Ivy 
Island."  To  this  my  mother  added  : 

"Now,  Taylor,  don't  become  so  excited  when  you  see  your  property  as  to  let 
your  joy  make  you  sick,  for  remember,  rich  as  you  are,  that  it  will  be  eleven 
years  before  you  can  come  into  possession  of  your  fortune." 

She  added  much  more  good  advice,  to  all  of  which  I  promised  to  be  calm  and 
reasonable  and  not  to  allow  my  pride  to  prevent  me  from  speaking  to  my  brothers 
and  sisters  when  I  returned  home. 

When  we  arrived  at  the  meadow,  which  was  in  that  part  of  the  "  Plum  Trees" 
known  as  "  East  Swamp,"  I  asked  my  father  where  "  Ivy  Island  "  was. 

"  Yonder,  at  the  north  end  of  this  meadow,  where  you  see  those  beautiful  trees 
rising  in  the  distance." 

All  the  forenoon  I  turned  grass  as  fast  as  two  men  could  cut  it,  and  after  a 
hasty  repast  at  noon,  one  of  our  hired  men,  a  good  natured  Irishman,  named 
Edmund,  took  an  axe  on  his  shoulder  and  announced  that  he  was  ready  to 
accompany  me  to  "Ivy  Island."  We  started,  and  as  we  approached  the  north 
end  of  the  meadow  we  found  the  ground  swampy  and  wet  and  were  soon  obliged 
to  leap  from  bog  to  bog  on  our  route.  A  mis-step  brought  me  up  to  my  middle 
in  water,  and  to  add  to  the  dilemma  a  swarm  of  hornets  attacked  me.  Attain- 
ing the  altitude  of  another  bog  I  was  cheered  by  the  assurance  that  there  was 
only  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  this  kind  of  travel  to  the  edge  of  my  property.  I 
waded  on.  In  about  fifteen  minutes  more,  after  floundering  through  the  morass, 
I  found  myself  half -drowned,  hornet-stung,  mud-covered,  and  out  of  breath,  on 
comparatively  dry  land. 


3d  EARLY   LLPE. 

"Never  mind,  my  boy,"  said  Edmund,  "  we  have  only  to  crow  this  little  creek, 
and  yell  be  upon  your  own  valuable  property." 

We  were  on  the  margin  of  a  stream,  the  banks  of  which  were  thickly  covered 
with  alders.  I  now  discovered  the  use  of  Edmund's  axe,  for  he  felled  a  small  oak 
to  form  a  temporary  bridge  to  my  "Island"  property.  Crossing  over,  I  pro- 
ceeded to  the  center  of  my  domain.  I  saw  nothing  but  a  few  stunted  ivies 
and  straggling  trees.  The  truth  Sashed  upon  me.  I  had  been  the  laugh- 
ing-stock of  the  family  and  neighborhood  for  years.  My  valuable  "  Ivy  Island" 
was  an  almost  inaccessible,  worthless  bit  of  barren  land,  and  while  I  stood  deplor- 
ing my  sudden  downfall,  »>  huge  black  snake  (one  of  my  tenants)  approached 
me  with  upraised  head.  J  <jave  one  shriek  and  rushed  for  the  bridge.* 

This  was  my  first  and  '«st  visit  to  "  Ivy  Island."  My  father  asked  me  "  how 
I  liked  my  property  ? "  and  I  responded  that  I  would  sell  it  pretty  cheap. 

As  I  grew  older  my  srttled  aversion  to  manual  labor,  farm  or  other  kind,  was 
manifest  in  various  wpys,  which  were  set  down  to  the  general  score  of  laziness. 
In  despair  of  doing  batter  with  me,  my  father  concluded  to  make  a  merchant  of 
me.  He  erected  a  building  in  Bethel,  and  with  Mr.  Hiram  Weed  as  a  partner, 
purchased  a  Ftonk  of  dry  goods,  hardware,  groceries,  and  general  notions  and 
installed  me  WE  clerk  in  this  country  store. 

We  krpt  a  cash,  credit  and  barter  store,  and  I  drove  sharp  bargains  with 
women  who  brought  butter,  eggs,  beeswax  and  feathers  to  exchange  for  dry 
goods,  and  with  men  who  wanted  to  trade  oats,  corn,  buckwheat,  axe-helves, 
hats,  and  other  commodities  for  tenpenny  nails,  molasses,  or  New  England  rum. 
It  was  a  drawback  upon  my  dignity  that  I  was  obliged  to  take  down  the  shutters, 
sveep  the  store,  and  make  the  fire.  I  received  a  small  salary  for  my  services 
and  the  perquisites  of  what  profit  I  could  derive  from  purchasing  candies  on  my 
own  account  to  sell  to  our  younger  customers,  and,  as  usual,  my  father  stipulated 
tbat  I  should  clothe  myself. 

There  is  a  great  deal  to  be  learned  in  a  country  store,  and  principally  this — 
that  sharp  trades,  tricks,  dishonesty  and  deception  are  by  no  means  confined  to 
the  city.  More  than  once,  in  cutting  open  bundles  of  rags,  brought  to  be 
exchanged  for  goods,  and  warranted  to  be  all  linen  and  cotton,  I  have  discovered 
in  the  interior  worthless  woolen  trash  and  sometimes  stones,  gravel  or  ashes. 
Sometimes,  too,  when  measuring  loads  of  oats,  corn  or  rye,  declared  to  contain 
a  specified  number  of  bushels,  say  sixty,  I  have  found  them  four  or  five  bushels 
short  In  the  evenings  and  on  wet  days  trade  was  always  dull,  and  at  such 
iimes  the  story-telling  and  joke-playing  wits  and  wags  of  the  village  used  to 
assemble  hi  our  store,  and  from  them  I  derived  considerable  amusement,  if  not 
profit.  After  the  store  was  closed  at  night,  I  frequently  joined  some  of  the 
village  boys  at  the  houses  of  their  parents,  where,  with  story-telling  and  play,  a 
couple  of  hours  would  soon  pass  by,  and  then  as  late,  perhaps,  as  eleven  o'clock, 
I  went  home  and  slyly  crept  up  stairs  so  as  not  to  awaken  my  brother  with 
whom  I  slept,  and  who  would  be  sure  to  report  my  late  hours.  He  made  every 
attempt,  and  laid  all  sorts  of  plans  to  catch  me  on  my  return,  but  as  sleep  always 
overtook  him,  I  managed  easily  to  elude  his  efforts. 

Like  most  people  in  Connecticut  in  those  days,  I  was  brought  up  to  attend 
church  regularly  on  Sunday,  and  long  before  I  could  read  I  was  a  prominent 
scholar  in  the  Sunday  school  My  good  mother  taught  me  my  lessons  in  the  New 
Testament  and  the  Catechism,  and  my  every  effort  was  directed  to  win  one  of 

•8*0  Illustration,  page  82. 


1BABLT    LIFE.  21 

those  "  Rewards  of  Merit,"  which  promised  to  pay  the  bearer  one  mill,  so  that 
ton  of  these  prizes  amounted  to  one  cent,  and  one  hundred  of  them,  which  might 
be  won  by  faithful  assiduity  every  Sunday  for  two  years,  would  buy  a  Sunday 
school  book  worth  ten  cents.  Such  were  the  magnificent  rewards  held  out  to  the 
religious  ambition  of  youth  in  those  days.  : . 

There  was  but  one  church  or  "meeting-house"  in  Bethel,  which  all  attended, 
sinking  all  differences  of  creed  in  the  Presbyterian  faith.  The  old  meeting- 
house had  neither  steeple  nor  bell  and  was  a  plain  edifice,  comfortable  enough  m 
summer,  but  my  teeth  chatter  even  now  when  I  think  of  the  dreary,  cold,  freez- 
ing hours  we  passed  in  that  place  in  winter.  A  stove  in  a  meeting-house  in  those 
days  would  have  been  a  sacrilegious  innovation.  The  sermons  were  from  an  hour 
and  one-half  to  two  hours  long,  and  through  these  the  congregation  would  sit 
and  shiver  till  they  really  merited  the  title  the  profane  gave  them  of  "blue 
skins."  Some  of  the  women  carried  a  "foot-stove"  consisting  of  a  small  square 
tin  box  in  a  wooden  frame,  the  sides  perforated,  and  in  the  interior  there  was  a 
small  square  iron  dish,  which  contained  a  few  live  coals  covered  with  ashes. 
These  stoves  were  usually  replenished  just  before  meeting  time  at  some  neigh- 
bor's near  the  meeting-house. 

After  many  years  of  shivering  and  suffering,  one  of  the  brethren  had  the 
temerity  to  propose  that  the  church  should  be  warmed  with  a  stove.  His  impious 
proposition  was  voted  down  by  an  overwhelming  majority.  Another  year  came 
iround,  and  in  November  the  stove  question  was  again  brought  up.  The  excite- 
ment was  immense.  The  subject  was  discussed  in  the  village  stores  and  in  the 
juvenile  debating  club  ;  it  was  prayed  over  in  conference  ;  and  finally  in  general 
"society's  meeting,"  in  December,  the  stove  was  carried  by  a  majority  of  one 
and  was  introduced  into  the  meeting-house.  On  the  first  Sunday  thereafter,  two. 
ancient  maiden  ladies  were  so  oppressed  by  the  dry  and  heated  atmosphere 
occasioned  by  the  wicked  innovation,  that  they  fainted  away  and  were  carried 
out  into  the  cool  air  where  they  speedily  returned  to  consciousness,  especially 
when  they  were  informed  that  owing  to  the  lack  of  two  lengths  of  pipe,  no  fire 
bad  yet  been  made  in  the  stove.  The  next  Sunday  was  a  bitter  cold  day,  and 
the  stove,  filled  with  well-seasoned  hickory,  was  a  great  gratification  to  the 
many,  and  displeased  only  a  few. 

During  the  Rev.  Mr.  Lowe's  ministrations  at  Bethel,  he  formed  a  Bible  class, 
of  which  I  was  a  member.  We  used  to  draw  promiscuously  from  a  hat  a  text  of 
scripture  and  write  a  composition  on  the  text,  which  compositions  were  read  after 
service  in  the  afternoon,  to  such  of 'the  congregation  as  remained  to  hear  the 
exercises  of  the  class.  Once,  I  remember,  I  drew  the  text,  Luke  x.  43 :  "But 
one  thing  is  needful;  and  Mary  hath  chosen  that  good  part  which  shall  not  be 
taken  away  from  her."  Question,  "  What  is  the  one  thing  needful? "  My  answer 
was  nearly  as  follows : 

"  This  question  '  what  is  the  one  thing  needful  ? '  is  capable  of  receiving  various 
answers,  depending  much  upon  the  persons  to  whom  it  is  addressed.  The  mer- 
chant might  answer  that  '  the  one  thing  needful '  is  plenty  of  customers,  who  buy 
liberally,  without  beating  down  and  pay  cash  for  all  their  purchases.'  The 
farmer  might  reply,  that '  the  one  thing  needful  is  large  harvests  and  high  prices.' 
The  physician  might  answer  that  'it  is  plenty  of  patients.'  The  lawyer  might 
be  of  opinion  that  '  it  is  an  unruly  community,  always  engaging  in  bickerings 
and  litigations. '  The  clergyman  might  reply,  '  It  is  a  fat  salary  with  multitudes 
of  sinners  seeking  salvation  and  paying  large  pew  rents.'  The  bachelor  might 
exclaim,  '  It  is  a  pretty  wife  who  loves  her  husband,  and  who  knows  how  to  sew 


22  EARLY    LIFE. 

on  buttona'  The  maiden  might  answer,  '  It  is  a  good  husband,  who  will  love, 
cherish  and  protect  me  while  life  shall  last.'  But  the  most  proper  answer,  and 
doubtless  that  which  applied  to  the  case  of  Mary,  would  be,  "The  one  thing 
needful  is  to  believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  follow  in  his  footsteps,  love  God 
and  obey  His  commandments,  love  our  fellow-man,  and  embrace  every  oppor- 
tunity of  administering  to  his  necessities.'  In  short,  '  the  one  thing  needful '  is  to 
live  a  life  that  we  can  always  look  back  upon  with  satisfaction,  and  be  enabled 
ever  to  contemplate  its  termination  with  trust  in  TTim  who  has  so  kindly  vouch- 
safed it  to  us,  surrounding  us  with  innumerable  blessings,  if  we  have  but  the 
heart  and  wisdom  to  receive  them  in  a  proper  manner." 

The  reading  of  a  portion  of  this  answer  occasioned  some  amusement  in  the 
congregation,  in  which  the  clergyman  himself  joined,  and  the  name  of  "Taylor 
Barnum "  was  whispered  in  connection  with  the  composition;  but  at  the  close  of 
the  reading  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  hearing  Mr.  Lowe  say  that  it  was  a  well 
written  answer  to  the  question,  "  What  is  the  one  thing  needful? " 


P.  T.  BARNUM'S  MOTHER,  IRENA, 

AT  THE  AGE  OF  78.  See  page  23. 


CHAPTER   II. 

INCIDENTS   AND   ANECDOTES. 

IN  the  month  of  August,  1825,  my  maternal  grandmother  met  with  an  accident 
in  stepping  on  the  point  of  a  rusty  nail,  and,  though  the  incident  was  at  first  con- 
sidered trivial,  it  resulted  in  her  death.  Alarming  symptoms  soon  made  her 
sensible  that  she  was  on  her  death-bed  ;  and  while  she  was  in  full  possession  of 
her  faculties,  the  day  before  she  died  she  sent  for  her  grandchildren  to  take  final 
leave  of  them.  I  shall  never  forget  the  sensations  I  experienced  when  she  took 
me  by  the  hand  and  besought  me  to  lead  a  religious  life,  and  especially  to  remem- 
ber that  I  could  in  no  way  so  effectually  prove  my  love  to  God  as  by  loving  all 
my  fellow-beings.  The  impressions  of  that  death-bed  scene  have  ever  been  among 
my  most  vivid  recollections,  and  I  trust  they  have  proved  in  some  degree 
salutary. 

My  father,  for  his  time  and  locality,  was  a  man  of  much  enterprise.  He  could, 
and  actually  did,  "  keep  a  hotel ;"  he  had  a  livery  stable  and  ran,  in  a  small  way, 
what  in  our  day  would  be  called  a  Nor  walk  Express  ;  and  he  also  kept  a  country 
store.  With  greater  opportunities  and  a  larger  field  for  his  efforts  and  energies, 
he  might  have  been  a  man  of  mark  and  means.  Not  that  he  was  successful,  for 
he  never  did  a  profitable  business ;  but  I,  who  saw  him  in  his  various  pursuits, 
and  acted  as  his  clerk,  caught  something  of  his  enterprising  spirit,  and,  perhaps 
without  egotism,  I  may  say  I  inherited  that  characteristic.  My  business  educa- 
tion was  as  good  as  the  limited  field  afforded,  and  I  soon  put  it  to  account  and 
service. 

On  the  7th  of  September,  1825,  my  father,  who  had  been  sick  since  the  month 
of  March,  died  at  the  age  of  forty-eight  years.  My  mother  was  left  with  five 
children,  of  whom  I,  at  fifteen  years  of  age,  was  the  eldest,  while  the  youngest 
was  but  seven.  It  was  soon  apparent  that  my  father  had  provided  nothing  for 
the  support  of  his  family  ;  his  estate  was  insolvent,  and  did  not  pay  fifty  cents 
on  the  dollar.  My  mother,  by  economy,  industry,  and  perseverance,  succeeded 
in  a  few  years  afterwards  in  redeeming  the  homestead  and  becoming  its  sole 
possessor ;  but,  at  the  date  of  the  death  of  my  father,  the  world  looked  gloomy 
indeed  ;  the  few  dollars  I  had  accumulated  and  loaned  to  my  father,  holding  his 
note  therefor,  were  decided  to  be  the  property  of  a  minor,  belonging  to  the 
father  and  so  to  the  estate,  and  my  small  claim  was  ruled  out.  I  was  obliged  to 
get  trusted  for  the  pair  of  shoes  I  wore  to  my  father's  funeral  I  literally  began 
the  world  with  nothing,  and  was  barefooted  at  that. 

I  went  to  Grassy  Plain,  a  mile  northwest  of  Bethel,  and  secured  a  situation  as 
clerk  in  the  store  of  James  8.  Keeler  &  Lewis  Whitlock  at  six  dollars  a  month 
and  my  board.  I  lived  with  Mrs.  Jerusba  Wheeler  and  her  daughters,  Jerusha 
and  Mary,  and  found  an  excellent  home.  I  chose  my  uncle,  Alanson  Taylor,  as 
my  guardian.  I  soon  gained  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  my  employers;  they 
afforded  me  many  facilities  for  making  money  on  my  own  account,  and  I  soon 
entered  upon  sundry  speculations  and  succeeded  in  getting  a  small  sum  of  money 
ahead. 

23 


24  INCIDENTS  AND   ANECDOTES. 

I  made  a  very  remarkable  trade  at  one  time  for  my  employers  by  purchasing, 
in  their  absence,  a  whole  wagon-load  of  green  glass  bottles  of  various  sizes,  for 
which  I  paid  in  unsalable  goods  at  very  profitable  prices.  How  to  dispose  of  the 
bottles  was  then  the  problem,  and  as  it  was  also  desirable  to  get  rid  of  a  large 
quantity  of  tin-ware  which  had  been  in  the  shop  for  years  and  was  considerably 
''shop-worn,"  I  conceived  the  idea  of  a  lottery  in  which  the  highest  prize  should 
be  twenty-five  dollars,  payable  in  any  goods  the  winner  desired,  while  there  were 
to  be  fifty  prizes  of  five  dollars  each,  payable  in  goods,  to  be  designated  in  the 
scheme.  Then  there  were  one  hundred  prizes  of  one  dollar  each,  one  hundred 
prizes  of  fifty  cents  each,  and  three  hundred  prizes  of  twenty-five  cents  each.  It 
is  unnecessary  to  state  that  the  minor  prizes  consisted  mainly  of  glass  and  tin- 
ware; the  tickets  sold  like  wildfire,  and  the  worn  tin  and  glass  bottles  were 
speedily  turned  into  cash. 

As  my  mother  continued  to  keep  the  village  tavern  at  Bethel,  I  usually  went 
home  on  Saturday  night  and  stayed  till  Monday  morning,  going  to  church  with 
my  mother  on  Sunday.  This  habit  was  the  occasion  of  an  adventure  of  momen- 
tous consequence  to  me.  One  Saturday  evening,  during  a  violent  thunder  shower, 
Miss  Mary  Wheeler,  a  milliner,  sent  me  word  that  there  was  a  girl  from  Bethel 
at  her  house,  who  had  come  up  on  horseback  to  get  a  new  bonnet ;  that  she 
was  afraid  to  go  back  alone ;  and  if  I  was  going  to  Bethel  that  evening  she 
wished  me  to  escort  her  customer.  I  assented,  and  went  over  to  "  Aunt  Rushia's  " 
where  I  was  introduced  to  "Chairy"  (Charity)  Hallett,  a  fair,  rosy-cheeked, 
buxom  girl,  with  beautiful  white  teeth.  I  assisted  her  to  her  saddle,  and,  mount- 
ing my  own  hone,  we  trotted  towards  Bethel 

My  first  impressions  of  this  girl  as  I  saw  her  at  the  house  were  exceedingly 
favorable.  As  soon  as  we  started  I  began  a  conversation  with  her,  and,  finding 
her  very  affable,  I  regretted  that  the  distance  to  Bethel  was  not  five  miles  instead 
of  one.  A  flash  of  lightning  gave  me  a  distinct  view  of  the  face  of  my  fair  com- 
panion, and  then  I  wished  the  distance  was  twenty  miles.  During  our  ride  I 
learned  that  she  was  a  tailoress,  working  with  Mr.  Zerah  Benedict,  of  Bethel. 
The  next  day  I  saw  her  at  church,  and,  indeed,  many  Sundays  afterwards,  but  1 
had  no  opportunity  to  renew  the  acquaintance  that  season. 

Mrs.  Jerusha  Wheeler,  with  whom  I  boarded,  and  her  daughter  Jerusha  were 
familiarly  known,  the  one  as  "  Aunt  Rushia,"  and  the  other  as  "  Rushia."  Many 
of  our  store  customers  were  hatters,  and  among  the  many  kinds  of  furs  we  sold 
for  the  nap  of  hats  was  one  known  to  the  trade  as  "  Russia."  One  day  a  hatter, 
Walter  Dibble,  called  to  buy  some  furs.  I  sold  him  several  kinds,  including 
' '  beaver  "  and  ' '  cony, "  and  he  then  asked  for  some  ' '  Russia. "  We  had  none,  and, 
as  I  wanted  to  play  a  joke  upon  him,  I  told  him  that  Mrs.  Wheeler  had  several 
nundred  pounds  of  "Rushia." 

"  What  on  earth  is  a  woman  doing  with  '  Russia  ? ' "  said  he. 

I  could  not  answer,  but  I  assured  him  that  there  were  one  hundred  and  thirty 
pounds  of  old  Rushia  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  of  young  Rushia  in  Mrs. 
Wheeler's  house,  and  under  her  charge,  but  whether  or  not  it  was  for  sale  I  could 
not  say.  Off  he  started  to  make  the  purchase  and  knocked  at  the  door.  Mrs. 
Wheeler,  the  elder,  made  her  appearance. 

"  I  want  to  get  your  Russia,"  said  the  hatter. 

Mrs.  Wheeler  asked  him  to  walk  in  and  be  seated.  She,  of  course,  supposed 
(hat  he  had  come  for  her  daughter  "  Rushia." 

"  What  do  you  want  of  Rushia!"  asked  the  old  lady. 

"  To  make  hats,"  was  the  reply. 


PHINEAS    TAYLOR.  See  page   17. 


!N«:rDENTS    AND    ANECDOTES.  45 

"To  trim  hats,  i  suppose  you  mean?"  responded  Mi's.  Wheeler. 

"No,  for  the  outside  of  hats,"  replied  the  hatter. 

"Well,  I  don't  know  much  about  nats,-'  said  the  old  lady,  "but  I  will  call  n\y 
daughter." 

Passing  into  another  room  where  "Rushia"  the  younger  was  at  work,  she 
informed  her  that  a  man  wanted  her  to  make  hats. 

"Oh,  he  means  sister  Mary,  probably.     I  suppose  he  wants  some  ladies'  hats.'' 
replied  Rushia,  as  she  went  into  the  parlor. 

"  This  is  my  daughter,"  said  the  old  lady. 

"I  want  to  get  your  Russia,"  said  he,  addressing  the  young  lady. 

"I  suppose  you  wish  to  see  my  sister  Mary  ;  she  is  our  milliner,"  said  young 
Rushia. 

"I  wish  to  see  whoever  owns  the  property,"  said  the  hatter. 

Sister  Mary  was  sent  for,  and,  as  she  was  introduced,  the  hatter  informed  hei 
that  he  wished  to  buy  her  "  Russia."  4* 

"Buy  Rushia! "  exclaimed  Mary  in  surprise  ;  "  I  don't  understand  you." 

"Your  name  is  Miss  Wheeler,  I  believe,"  said  the  hatter,  who  was  annoyed  bj 
the  difficulty  he  met  with  in  being  understood. 

"It  is,  sir." 

"  Ah !  very  well.     Is  there  old  and  young  Russia  in  the  house  i " 

"I  believe  there  is,"  said  Mary,  surprised  at  the  familiar  manner  in  which  !)•• 
spoke  of  her  mother  and  sister,  who  were  present. 

"  What  is  the  price  of  old  Russia  per  pound?"  asked  the  hatter. 

"  I  believe,  sir,  that  old  Rushia  is  not  for  sale,"  replied  Mary  indignantly. 

"  Well,  what  do  you  ask  for  young  Russia?"  pursued  the  hatter. 

" Sir, "  said  Miss  Rushia  the  younger,  springing  to  her  feet,  "do  you  come  heiv 
to  insult  defenceless  females  ?  If  you  do,  sir,  our  brother,  who  is  in  the  garden 
will  punish  you  as  you  deserve." 

"  Ladies! "  exclaimed  the  hatter,  in  astonishment,  "what  on  earth  have  I  don« 
to  offend  you  ?  I  came  here  on  a  business  matter.  I  want  to  buy  some  Russia 
1  was  told  you  had  old  and  young  Russia  in  the  house.  Indeed,  this  young  lad.} 
just  stated  such  to  be  the  fact,  but  she  says  the  old  Russia  is  not  for  sale.  Now 
if  I  can  buy  the  young  Russia  I  want  to  do  so — but  if  that  can't  be  done,  pleas* 
to  say  so  and  I  will  trouble  you  no  further." 

"Mother,  open  the  door  and  let  this  man  go  out;  he  is  undoubtedly  crazy,' 
said  Miss  Mary. 

"  By  thunder!  I  believe  I  shall  be  if  I  remain  here  long,"  exclaimed  the  hatter 
considerably  excited.  "I  wonder  if  folks  never  do  business  in  these  parts,  thai 
yon  think  a  man  is  crazy  if  he  attempts  such  a  thing?" 

"  Business!  poor  man! "  said  Mary  soothingly,  approaching  the  door. 

"I  am  not  a  poor  man,  madam,"  replied  the  hatter.  "My  name  is  Waltei 
Dibble  ;  I  carry  on  hatting  extensively  in  Danbury  ;  I  came  to  Grassy  Plain  tc 
buy  fur,  and  have  purchased  some  'beaver'  and  'cony,'  and  now  it  seems  I  am 
to  be  called  'crazy'  and  a  'poor  man,'  because  I  want  to  buy  a  little  '  Russia  '  to 
make  up  my  assortment." 

The  ladies  began  to  open  their  eyes  ;  they  saw  that  Mr.  Dibble  was  quite  in 
earnest,  and  his  explanation  threw  considerable  light  upon  the  subject. 

"Who  sent  you  here?"  asked  sister  Mary. 

"  The  clerk  at  the  opposite  store,"  was  the  reply. 

"  HP  is  a  wicked  young  fellow  for  making  all  this  trouble,"  said   the  old  lady 
'  he  has  been  doing  this  for  a  joke." 


26  INCIDENTS   AND   ANECDOTES. 

•'  A  joke! "  exclaimed  Dibble,  iii  surprise.     "  Have  you  no  Russia,  theu! " 
"My  name  is  Jerusha,  and  so  is  my  daughter's,"  said  Mrs.  Wheeler,  ''and  that, 
1  suppose,  is  what  he  meant  by  telling  you  about  old  and  young  Rushia." 

Mr.  Dibble  bolted  through  the  door  without  another  word  and  made  directly 
for  our  store.  "  You  young  scamp ! "  said  he,  as  he  entered  ;  "  what  did  you  mean 
by  sending  me  over  there  to  buy  Russia? " 

"  I  did  not  send  you  to  buy  Rushia  ;  I  supposed  you  were  either  a  bachelor  or 
widower  and  wanted  to  marry  Rushia,"  I  replied,  with  a  serious  countenance. 

"You  lie,  you  young  dog,  and  you  know  it ;  but  never  mind,  I'll  pay  you  off 
some  day; "  and  taking  his  furs,  he  departed  with  less  ill-humor  than  could  ha.\  e 
been  expected  under  the  circumstances. 

Among  our  customers  were  three  or  four  old  Revolutionary  pensioners,  who 
traded  out  the  amounts  of  their  pensions  before  they  were  due,  leaving  their 
papers  as  security.  One  of  these  pensioners  was  old  Bevans,  commonly  known 
as  "Uncle  Bibbins,"  a  man  Hho  loved  his  glass  and  was  very  prone  to  relate 
romantic  Revolutionary  anecdotes  and  adventures,  in  which  he,  of  course,  was 
conspicuous.  At  one  time  he  was  in  our  debt,  and  though  we  held  his  pension 
papers,  it  would  be  three  months  before  the  money  could  be  drawn.  It  was 
desirable  to  get  him  away  for  that  length  of  time,  and  we  hinted  to  him  that  it 
would  be  pleasant  to  make  a  visit  to  Guilford,  where  he  had  relations,  but  he 
would  not  go.  Finally,  I  hit  upon  a  plan  which  "  moved  "  him, 

A  journejrman  hatter,  named  Benton,  who  was  fond  of  a  practical  joke,  was 
let  into  the  secret,  and  was  persuaded  to  call  "  Uncle  Bibbins"  a  coward,  to  tell 
him  that  he  had  been  wounded  in  the  back,  and  thus  to  prpvoke  a  duel,  which  he 
lid,  and  at  my  suggestion  "Uncle  Bibbins"  challenged  Benton  to  fight  him  with 
musket  and  ball  at  a  distance  of  twenty  yards.  The  challenge  was  accepted,  I 
was  chosen  second  by  "Uncle  Bibbins,"  and  the  duel  was  to  come  off  imme- 
diately. My  principal,  taking  me  aside,  begged  me  to  put  nothing  in  the  guns 
but  blank  cartridges.  I  assured  him  it  should  be  so,  and  therefore  that  he  might 
feel  perfectly  safe. 

The  ground  was  measured  in  the  lot  at  the  rear  of  our  store,  and  the  principals 
and  seconds  took  their  places.  At  the  word  given  both  parties  fired.  "Uncle 
Bibbins "  of  course,  escaped  unhurt,  but  Benton  leaped  several  feet  into  the  air, 
and  fell  upon  the  ground  with  a  dreadful  yell,  as  if  he  had  been  really  shot. 
"Uncle  Bibbins"  was  frightened.  I  ran  to  him,  told  him  I  had  neglected  to 
extract  the  bullet  from  his  gun  (which  was  literally  true,  as  there  was  no  bullet 
in  it  to  extract),  and  he  supposed,  of  course,  he  had  killed  his  adversary.  I  then 
whispered  to  him  to  go  immediately  to  Guilford,  to  keep  quiet,  and  he  should 
hear  from  me  as  soon  as  it  would  be  safe  to  do  so.  He  started  up  the  street  on  11 
run,  and  immediately  quit  the  town  for  Guilford,  where  he  kept  himself  quiet 
until  it  was  time  for  him  to  return  and  sign  his  papers.  I  then  wrote  him  that 
"  he  could  return  in  safety  ;  that  his  adversary  had  recovered  from  his  wound, 
and  now  forgave  him  all,  as  be  felt  himself  much  to  blame  for  having  insulted  a 
man  of  his  known  courage." 

"Uncle  Bibbins"  returned,  signed  the  papers,  and  we  obtained  the  pension 
money.  A  few  days  thereafter  he  met  Bentou. 

"  My  brave  old  friend,"  said  Beuton,  "  I  forgive  you  my  terrible  wound  and 
long  confinement  on  the  brink  of  the  grave,  and  I  beg  you  to  forgive  me  also.  I 
insulted  you  without  a  cause." 

" I  forgive  you  freely,  "  said  "Uncle  Bibbins;"  "but,"  he  added,  "you  must 
bt»  careful  next  time  how  you  insult  a  dead  shot." 


CHAPTER    III. 

IN    BUSINESS    FOR    MYSELF. 

ALB.  OLIVER  TAYLOR  removed  from  Danbury  to  Brooklyn,  Long  Island,  where 
ue  kept  a  grocery  store  and  also  had  a  large  comb  factory  and  a  comb  store  in 
New  York.  In  the  fall  of  1826  he  offered  me  a  situation  as  clerk  in  Ms  Brooklyn 
>tore,  which  I  accepted,  and  before  long  was  entrusted  with  the  purchasing  of  all 
goods  for  Ks  store.  I  bought  for  cash  entirely,  going  into  the  lower  part  of  New 
York  city  in  search  of  the  cheapest  market  for  groceries,  often  attending  auctions 
of  teas,  sugars,  molasses,  etc.,  watching  the  sales,  noting  prices  and  buyers,  and 
frequently  combining  with  other  grocers  to  bid  off  large  lots,  which  we  subse- 
quently divided,  giving  each  of  us  the  quantity  wanted  at  a  lower  rate  than  if  the 
goods  had  passed  into  other  hands,  compelling  us  to  pay  another  profit. 

Well  treated  as  I  was  by  my  employer,  who  manifested  great  interest  in  me, 
still  I  was  dissatisfied.  A  salary  was  not  sufficient  for  me.  My  disposition  was 
of  that  speculative  character  which  refused  to  be  satisfied  unless  I  was  engaged  in 
some  business  where  my  profits  might  be  enhanced,  or,  at  least,  made  to  depend 
upon  my  energy,  perseverance,  attention  to  business,  tact,  and  "calculation." 

In  the  following  summer,  1827,  I  was  taken  down  with  the  small-pox  and  was 
confined  to  the  house  for  several  months.  This  sickness  made  a  sad  inroad  upon 
my  means.  When  I  was  sufficiently  recovered,  I  went  home  to  recruit. 

During  my  convalescence  at  my  mother's  house,  I  visited  my  old  friends  and 
neighbors  and  had  the  opportunity  to  renew  iny  acquaintance  with  the  attractive 
tailoress,  "  Chairy  "  Hallett.  A  month  afterwards,  I  returned  to  Brooklyn,  where 
I  gave  Mr.  Taylor  notice  of  my  desire  to  leave  his  employment;  and  I  then  opened 
a  porter-house  on  my  own  account.  In  a  few  months  I  sold  out  to  good  advantage ' 
and  accepted  a  favorable  offer  to  engage  as  clerk  in  a  similar  establishment,  kept 
by  Mr.  David  Thorp,  29  Peck  Slip,  New  York.  It  was  a  great  resort  for  Danbury 
and  Bethel  comb  makers  and  hatters,  and  I  thus  had  frequent  opportunities  of 
seeing  and  healing  from  my  fellow-townsmen.  I  lived  in  Mr.  Thorp's  family  and 
was  kindly  treated.  I  was  often  permitted  to  visit  the  theater  with  friends  who 
came  to  New  York,  and,  as  I  had  considerable  taste  for  the  f Irama,  I  soon  became,  in 
my  own  opinion,  a  discriminating  critic — nor  did  I  fail  to  exhibit  my  powers  to  my 
Connecticut  friends  who  accompanied  me  to  the  play.  Let  me  gratefully  add 
that  my  habits  were  hot  bad.  Though  I  sold  liquors  to  others,  I  do  not  think  I 
ever  drank  a  pint  of  liquor,  wine,  or  cordials  before  I  was  twenty-two  years  of 
age.  I  always  had  a  Bible,  which  I  frequently  read,  and  I  attended  church  regu- 
larly. These  habits,  so  far  as  they  go,  are  in  the  right  direction,  and  I  am  thankful 
to-day  that  they  characterized  my  early  youth.  However  worthy  or  unworthy 
may  have  been  my  later  years,  I  know  that  I  owe  much  of  the  better  part  of  my 
nature  to  my  youthful  regard  for  Sunday  and  its  institutions — a  regard,  I  trust, 
still  strong  in  my  character. 

In  February,  1828,  I  returned  to  Bethel  and  opened  a  retail  fruit  and  confec- 
tionery store  in  a  part  of  my  grandfather's  carriage-house,  which  was  situated  011 
the  main  street,  and  which  was  offered  to  me  rent  free  if  I  would  return  to  my 

27 


28  IN    BUSINESS    FOR    MYSELF. 

native  village  and  establish  some  sort  of  business.  This  beginning  of  business  on 
my  own  account  was  an  eventful  era  in  my  life.  My  total  capital  was  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  dollars,  fifty  of  which  I  had  expended  in  fitting  up  the  store,  and 
the  remaining  seventy  dollars  purchased  my  stock  in  trade.  I  had  arranged  with 
fruit  dealers  whom  I  knew  in  New  York,  to  receive  my  orders,  and  I  decided  to 
open  my  establishment  on  the  first  Monday  in  May — our  "general  training  "  day. 

It  was  a  "red  letter"  day  for  me.  The  village  was  crowded  with  people  from 
the  surrounding  region  and  the  novelty  of  my  little  shop  attracted  attention. 
Long  before  noon  I  was  obliged  to  call  in  one  of  my  old  schoolmates  to  assist  in 
waiting  upon  my  numerous  customers  and  when  I  closed  at  night  I  had  the  satis- 
faction of  reckoning  up  sixty-three  dollars  as  my  day's  receipts.  Nor,  although  I 
had  received  the  entire  cost  of  my  goods,  less  seven  dollars,  did  the  stock  seem 
seriously  diminished:  showing  that  my  profits  had  been  large.  I  need  not  say 
how  much  gratified  I  was  with  the  result  of  this  first  day's  experiment.  The 
store  was  a  fixed  fact.  I  went  to  New  York  and  expended  all  ray  money  in  a 
stock  of  fancy  goods,  such  as  pocket-books,  combs,  beads,  rings,  pocket-knives, 
and  a  few  toys.  These,  with  fruit,  nuts,  etc.,  made  the  business  good  through  the 
summer,  and  in  the  fall  I  added  stewed  oysters  to  the  inducements. 

My  grandfather,  who  was  much  interested  in  my  success,  advised  me  to  take  an 
agency  for  the  sale  of  lottery  tickets,  on  commission.  In  those  days,  the  lottery 
was  not  deemed  objectionable  on  the  score  of  morality.  Very  worthy  people 
invested  in  such  schemes  without  a  thought  of  evil,  and  then,  as  now,  churches 
even  got  up  lotteries,  with  this  difference — that  then  they  were  called  lotteries, 
and  now  they  go  under  some  other  name.  While  I  am  very  glad  that  an  improved 
public  sentiment  denounces  the  lottery  in  general  as  an  illegitimate  means  of 
getting  money,  and  while  I  do  not  see  how  any  one,  especially  in  or  near  a  New 
England  State,  can  engage  in  a  lottery  without  feeling  a  reproach  which  no  pecu- 
niary return  can  compensate,  yet  I  cannot  now  accuse  myself  for  having  been 
lured  into  a  business  which  was  then  sanctioned  by  good  Christian  people,  who 
now  join  with  me  in  reprobating  enterprises  they  once  encouraged.  But  as  public 
.sentiment  was  forty-five  years  ago,  I  obtained  an  agency  to  sell  lottery  tickets  on  a 
commission  of  ten  per  cent.,  and  this  business,  in  connection  with  my  little  store, 
made  my  profits  quite  satisfactory. 

I  used  to  have  some  curious  customers.  On  one  occasion  a  young  man  called 
on  me  and  selected  a  pocket-book  which  pleased  him,  asking  me  to  give  him  credit 
for  a  few  weeks.  I  told  him  that  if  he  wanted  any  article  of  necessity  in  my 
line,  1  should  not  object  to  trust  him  for  a  short  time,  but  it  struck  me  that  a 
pocket-book  was  a  decided  superfluity  for  a  man  who  had  no  money. 

My  store  had  much  to  do  in  giving  shape  to  my  future  character  as  well  as 
career,  in  that  it  became  a  favorite  resort;  the  theater  of  village  talk,  and  the 
scene  of  many  practical  jokes.  For  any  excess  of  the  jocose  element  in  my  char- 
acter, part  of  the  blame  must  attach  to  my  early  surroundings  as  a  village  clerk 
and  merchant.  In  that  true  resort  of  village  wits  and  wags,  the  country  store, 
fun,  pure  and  simple,  will  be  sure  to  find  the  surface.  My  Bethel  store  was  the 
scene  of  many  most  amusing  incidents,  in  some  of  which  I  was  an  immediate 
participant,  though  in  many,  I  was  only  a  listener  or  spectator. 

The  following  scene  makes  a  chapter  in  the  history  of  Connecticut,  as  the  State 
was  when  "blue  laws"  were  something  more  than  a  dead  letter.  To  swear  in 
those  days  was  according  to  custom,  but  contrary  to  law.  A  person  from  New 
York  State,  whom  I  will  call  Crofut,  who  was  a  frequent  visitor  at  my  store,  was 
equally  noted  for  bis  self-will  and  his  really  terrible  profanity.  One  day  he  was 


IN   BUSINESS    FOR   MYSELF.  29 

in  my  little  establishment  engaged  in  conversation,  when  Nathan  Seelye,  Esq. . 
one  of  our  village  justices  of  the  peace,  and  a  man  of  strict  religious  principles, 
came  in,  and  hearing  Crofut's  profane  language  he  told  him  he  considered  it  his 
duty  to  fine  him  one  dollar  for  swearing. 

Crofut  responded  immediately  with  an  oath,  that  he  did  not  care  a  d n  for 

the  Connecticut  blue  laws. 

"That  will  make  two  dollars,"  said  Mr.  Seelye. 

This  brought  forth  another  oath. 

"Three  dollars,"  said  the  sturdy  justice. 

Nothing  but  oaths  were  given  in  reply,  until  Esquire  Seelye  declared  the  damage 
to  the  Connecticut  laws  to  amount  to  fifteen  dollars. 

Crofut  took  out  a  twenty-dollar  bill,  and  handed  it  to  the  justice  of  the  peace, 
with  an  oath. 

"Sixteen  dollars,"  said  Mr.  Seelye,  counting  out  four  dollars  to  hand  to  Mr. 
Crofut,  as  his  change. 

"  Oh,  keep  it,  keep  it,"  said  Crofut,  "  I  don't  want  any  change,  I'll  d d  soon 

swear  out  the  balance."  He  did  so,  after  which  he  was  more  circumspect  in  his 
conversation,  remarking  that  twenty  dollars  a  day  for  swearing  was  about  as 
much  as  he  could  stand. 

On  another  occasion,  a  man  arrested  for  assault  and  battery  was  to  be  tried 
before  my  grandfather,  who  was  a  justice  of  the  peace.  A  young  medical  student 
named  Newton,  volunteered  to  defend  the  prisoner,  and  Mr.  Couch,  the  grand 
juryman,  came  to  me  and  said  that  as  the  prisoner  had  engaged  a  pettifogger,  the 
State  ought  to  have  some  one  to  represent  its  interests  and  he  would  give  me  a 
dollar  to  present  the  case.  I  accepted  the  fee  and  proposition.  The  fame  of  the 
"eminent  counsel"  on  both  sides  drew  quite  a  crowd  to  hear  the  case.  As  for 
the  case  itself,  it  was  useless  to  argue  it,  for  the  guilt  of  the  prisoner  was  estab- 
lished by  evidence  of  half  a  dozen  witnesses.  However,  Newton  was  bound  to 
display  himself,  and  so,  rising  with  much  dignity,  he  addressed  my  grandfather 
with,  "May  it  please  the  honorable  count,"  etc.,  proceeding  with  a  mixture  of 
poetry  and  invective  against  Couch,  the  grand  juryman  whom  he  assumed  to  be 
the  vindictive  plaintiff  in  this  case.  After  alluding  to  him  as  such  for  the  twen- 
tieth time,  my  grandfather  stopped  Newton  in  the  midst  of  his  splendid  peroration 
and  informed  him  that  Mr.  Couch  was  not  the  plaintiff  in  the  case. 

"Not  the  plaintiff  1  Then  may  it  please  your  honor  I  should  like  to  know  who 
is  the  plaintiff  ? "  inquired  Newton. 

He  was  quietly  informed  that  the  State  of  Connecticut  was  the  plaintiff,  where- 
upon Newton  dropped  into  his  seat  as  if  he  had  been  shot.  Thereupon,  I  rose 
with  great  confidence,  and  speaking  from  my  notes,  proceeded  to  show  the  guilt 
of  the  prisoner  from  the  evidence;  that  there  was  no  discrepancy  in  the  testi- 
mony ;  that  none  of  the  witnesses  had  been  impeached ;  that  no  defense  had  been 
offered;  that  1  was  astonished  at  the  audacity  uf  both  counsel  and  prisoner  in  not 
pleading  guilty  at  once;  and  then,  soaring  aloft  on  general  principles,  I  began  to 
look  about  for  a  safe  place  to  alight,  when  my  grandfather  interrupted  me  with — 

"Young  man,  will  you  have  the  kindness  to  inform  the  court  which  side  you 
are  pleading  for — the  plaintiff  or  the  defendant  ? " 

It  was  my  turn  to  drop,  which  I  did  amid  a  shout  of  laughter  from  every  corner 
of  the  court-room.  Newton,  who  had  been  very  downcast,  looked  up  with  a 
broad  grin  and  the  two  "eminent  counsel "  sneaked  out  of  the  room  in  company, 
while  the  prisoner  was  bound  over  to  the  next  County  Court  for  trial. 


30  IN    BUSINESS   FOR   MYSELF. 

While  my  business  in  Bethel  continued  to  increase  beyond  my  expectations,  1 
was  also  happy  in  believing  that  my  suit  with  the  fair  tailoress,  Charity  Hallett, 
was  duly  progressing. 

How  I  managed  one  of  our  sleigh  rides  may  be  worth  narrating.  My  grand- 
father would,  at  any  time,  let  me  have  a  horse  and  sleigh,  always  excepting  his 
new  sleigh,  the  finest  in  the  village,  and  a  favorite  horse  called  "Arabian."  I 
especially  coveted  this  turnout  for  one  of  our  parties,  knowing  that  I  could  eclipse 
all  my  comrades,  and  so  I  asked  grandfather  if  I  could  have  "  Arabian  "  and  the 
new  sleigh. 

"  Yes,  if  you  have  twenty  dollars  in  your  pocket,"  was  the  reply. 

I  immediately  showed  the  money,  and,  putting  it  back  in  my  pocket,  said  with 
a  laugh :  ' '  You  see  I  have  the  money.  I  am  much  obliged  to  you ;  I  suppose  I  can 
have  'Arab'  and  the. new  sleigh  ?" 

Of  course,  he  meant  to  deny  me  by  making  what  he  thought  to  be  an  impossi- 
ble condition,  to  wit:  that  I  should  hire  the  team,  at  a  good  round  price,  if  I  had 
it  at  all,  but  I  had  caught  him  so  suddenly  that  he  was  compelled  to  consent,  and 
"  Chairy  "  and  I  had  the  crack  team  of  the  party. 

There  was  a  young  apprentice  to  the  tailoring  trade  in  Bethel,  whom  I  will  call 
John  Mallett,  whose  education  had  been  much  neglected,  and  who  had  been  pay- 
ing his  addresses  to  a  certain  "Lucretia"  for  some  six  months,  with  a  strong 
probability  of  being  jilted  at  last.  On  a  Sunday  evening  she  had  declined  to  take 
his  arm,  accepting  instead  the  arm  of  the  next  ma,n  who  offered,  and  Mallett 
determined  to  demand  an  explanation.  He  accordingly  came  to  me  the  Saturday 
evening  following,  asking  me,  when  I  had  closed  my  store,  to  write  a  strong  and 
rernonstratory  "love-letter"  for  him.  I  asked  "BUI  Shepard,"  who  was  present, 
to  remain  and  assist,  and,  in  due  time,  the  joint  efforts  of  Shepard,  Mallett  and 
myself  resulted  in  the  following  production.  I  give  the  letter  as  an  illustrative 
chapter  in  real  life.  It  is  certainly  not  after  the  manner  of  Chesterfield,  but  i 
such  a  letter  as  a  disappointed  lover,  spurred  by 

The  green-eyed  monster,  which  doth  mock 
The  meat  it  feeds  on, 

frequently  indites.    With  a  demand  from  Mallett  that  we  should  begin  in  strong 
terms,  and  Shepard  acting  as  scribe,  we  concocted  the  following: 

BETHEL, .  18—. 

Miss  LUCRETIA  :  I  write  this  to  ask  an  explanation  of  your  conduct  in  giving  me  the  uiitteu 
on  Sunday  night  last.  If  you  think,  madam,  that  you  can  trifle  with  my  affections,  and  turn 
ne  off  for  every  little  whipper-snapper  that  you  can  pick  up,  yon  will  find  yourself  consid- 

.wiKli'   tvi  i^t.iL-dn          rYX7«  ..,..1,1    tViti^    f.i*>  t.,   Af.illr.tt     ond     it    mot     liic   •mnrrkvnl          H*»  caifl     ho    lib-nH 


*  These  were  the  euphonious  names  of  localities  in  the  vicinity  of  Bethel. 


IN    BUSINESS    FOR   MYSELF.  31 

my  mind,  and  when,  my  dear  girl,  I  remember  how  often  you  have  told  me  that  yon  loved 
me  better  than  anybody  else,  and  I  assured  you  my  feelings  were  the  same  as  yours,  it  almost 
breaks  my  heart  to  think  of  last  Sunday  night.  ["  Can't  you  stick  in  some  aflecting  poetry 
here  ?"  said  Mallett.  Shepard  could  not  recollect  any  to  the  point,  nor  could  I,  but  as  the 
exigency  of  the  case  seemed  to  require  it,  we  concluded  to  manufacture  a  verse  or  two,  which 
we  did,  as  follows:] 

Lucretia,  dear,  what  have  I  done, 

That  yon  should  use  me  thus  and  so. 
To  take  the  arm  of  Tom  Beers'  son, 

And  let  your  dearest  true  love  go? 

Miserable  fate,  to  lose  you  now, 
And  tear  this  bleeding  heart  asunder! 


Will  you  forget  your  tender  vow? 
I  can't  believe  it— no,  by  thunder 


[Mallett  did  not  like  the  word  "thunder,"  but  being  informed  that  no  other  word  could 
be  substituted  without  destroying  both  rhyme  and  reason,  he  consented  that  it  should  remain, 
provided  we  added  two  more  stanzas  of  a  softer  nature  ;  something,  he  said,  that  would 
make  the  tears  come,  if  possible.  We  then  ground  out  the  following  :] 

Lucretia.  dear,  do  write  to  Jack, 
And  say  with  Beers  you  are  not  smitten ; 

And  thus  to  me  in  love  come  back, 
And  give  all  other  boys  the  mitten. 

Do  this,  Lucretia,  and  till  death 

I'll  love  you  to  intense  distraction: 
I'll  spend  for  you  my  every  breath, 

And  we  will  live  in  satisfaction. 

I"  That  will  do  very  well,"  said  Mallett.  "Now  I  guess  you  had  better  blow  her  up  a 
little  more."  We  obeyed  orders  as  follows :]  It  makes  me  mad  to  think  what  a  fool  I  was 
to  give  you  that  finger-ring  and  bosom-pin,  and  spend  so  much  time  in  your  company,  just 
to  be  flirted  and  bamboozled  as  I  was  on  Sunday  night  last.  If  you  continue  this  course  ol 
conduct,  we  part  forever,  and  I  will  thank  you  to  send  back  that  jewelry.  I  would  sooner 
see  it  crushed  under  my  feet  than  worn  by  a  person  who  abused  me  as  you  have  done.  1 
shall  despise  you  forever  if  you  don't  change  your  conduct  towards  me,  and  send  DC  e  a  letter 
*pf  apology  on  Monday  next.  I  shall  not  go  to  meeting  to-morrow,  for  I  would  scorn  to  sit 
in  the  same  meeting-house  with  you  until  I  have  an  explanation  of  your  conduct.  If  you 
illow  any  young  man  to  go  home  with  you  to-morrow  night,  I  shall  know  it,  for  yon  will  be 
watched.  [" There,"  said  Mallett,  "that  is  pretty  strong.  Now  I  guess  you  had  bette* 
touch  her  feelings  once  more,  and  wind  up  the  letter."  We  proceeded  as  follows:)  My  sweet 
girl,  if  you  only  knew  the  sleepless  nights  which  I  have  spent  during  the  present  v  eek,  the 
torments  and  sullerings  which  I  endure  on  your  account ;  if  you  could  but  reall  e  that  I 
regard  the  world  as  less  than  nothing  without  you,  I  ascertain  you  would  pi'yme.  A 
homely  cot  and  a  crust  of  bread  with  my  adorable  Lucretia  would  be  a  paradif^,  where  a 
palace  without  you  would  be  a  hades.  ["  What  in  thunder  is  hades  ?  "  inquired  Jack.  We 
explained.  He  considered  the  figure  rather  bold,  and  requested  us  to  close  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible.] Now,  dearest,  in  bidding  you  adieu,  I  implore  you  to  reflect  on  our  past  enjoyments, 
look  forward  with  pleasure  to  our  future  happy  meetings,  at.d  rely  upon  your  aflectionate 
Jack  in  storm  or  calm,  in  sickness,  distress,  or  want,  for  all  these  will  be  powerless  to 
change  my  love.  I  hope  to  hear  from  you  on  Monday  next,  and.  If  favorable,  I  shall  be 
happy  to  call  on  you  the  same  evening,  when  in  ecstatic  joy  we  will  laugh  at  the  past,  hope 
for  the  future,  and  draw  consolation  from  the  fact  that  "  the  course  of  true  love  never  did 
run  smooth."  This  from  your  disconsolate  but  still  hoping  lover  and  admirer, 

JACK  MALLETT. 

P.  S. — On  reflection  I  have  concluded  to  go  to  meeting  to-morrow.  If  all  is  well,  hold 
your  pocket  handkerchief  in  your  left  hand  as  you  stand  up  losing  with  the  choir — in  which 
.case  I  shall  expect  the  pleasure  of  giving  you  my  arm  to-morrow  night.  J.  M. 

The  effect  of  this  letter  upon  Lucretia,  I  regret  to  say,  was  not  as  favorable  as 
could  have  been  desired.  She  declined  to  remove  her  handkerchief  from  her  right 
hand,  and  she  returned  the  "ring  and  bosom -pin"  to  her  disconsolate  admirer, 
while,  not  many  months  after,  Mallett's  rival  led  Lucretia  to  the  altar.  As  for 
Mallett's  agreement  to  pay  Shepard  and  nr 'self  five  pounds  of  carpet  rags  and 
twelve  yards  of  broadcloth  "lists,"  for  our  services,  owing  to  his  ill  success,  we 
compromised  for  one-half  the  amount. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

STKU-GGLES    FOR   A    LIVELIHOOD. 

DURING  this  season  I  made  arrangements  with  Mr.  Samuel  Sherwood,  of  Bridge 
j)ort,  to  go  on  an  exploring  expedition  to  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  where  we 
understood  there  was  a  fine  opening  for  a  lottery  office,  and  where  we  meant  to 
try  our  fortunes,  provided  the  prospects  should  equal  our  expectations.  We  went 
to  New  York,  where  I  had  an  interview  with  Mr.  Dudley  S.  Gregory,  the  princi- 
pal business  man  of  Messrs.  Yates  and  Mclntyre,  who  dissuaded  me  from  going 
to  Pittsburg,  and  offered  me  the  entire  lottery  agency  for  the  State  of  Tennessee, 
if  I  would  go  to  Nashville  and  open  an  office.  The  offer  was  tempting,  but  the 
distance  was  too  far  from  a  certain  tailoress  in  Bethel. 

The  Pittsburg  trip  given  up,  Sherwood  and  I  went  to  Philadelphia  for  a  pleas- 
ure excursion  and  put  up  at  Congress  Hall  in  Chestnut  street  where  we  lived  in 
much  grander  style  than  we  had  been  accustomed  to,  and  for  a  week  we  were  in 
clover.  At  the  end  of  that  time,  however,  when  we  concluded  to  start  for  home, 
the  amount  of  our  hotel  bill  astounded  us.  After  paying  it  and  securing  tickets 
for  New  York,  our  combined  purses  showed  a  balance  of  but  twenty-seven  cents. 

Twenty-five  cents  of  this  sum  went  to  the  boot-black.  Fortunately  our  breakfast 
was  included  in  our  bill,  and  we  secured  from  the  table  a  few  biscuits  for  our 
dinner  on  the  way  to  New  York. 

On  arriving  we  carried  our  own  baggage  to  Holt's  Hotel.  The  next  morning 
Sherwood  obtained  a  couple  of  dollars  from  a  friend,  and  went  to  Newark  and 
borrowed  fifty  dollars  from  his  cousin,  Dr.  Sherwood,  loaning  me  one-half  the 
sum.  After  a  few  days'  sojourn  in  the  city  we  returned  home. 

During  our  stay  in  New  York,  I  derived  considerable  information  from  the 
city  managers  with  regard  to  the  lottery  business,  and  thereafter  I  bought  my 
tickets  directly  from  the  Connecticut  lottery  managers  at  what  was  termed  "  the 
scheme  price,"  and  also  established  agencies  throughout  the  country,  selling  con- 
siderable quantities  of  tickets  at  handsome  profits.  My  uncle,  Alanson  Taylor, 
joined  me  in  the  business,  and,  as  we  sold  several  prizes,  my  office  came  to  be 
considered  "lucky,"  and  I  received  orders  from  all  parts  of  the  country. 

During  this  time  I  kept  a  close  eye  upon  the  attractive  tailoress,  Charity  Hallett, 
and  in  the  summer  of  1829  I  asked  her  hand  in  marriage.  My  suit  was  accepted, 
and  the  wedding  day  was  appointed;  I,  meanwhile,  applying  myself  closely  to 
business,  and  no  one  but  the  parties  immediately  interested  suspecting  that  the 
event  was  so  near  at  hand.  Miss  Hallett  went  to  New  York  in  October,  ostensibly 
to  visit  her  uncle,  Nathan  Beers,  who  resided  at  No.  3  Allen  Street.  I  followed 
in  November,  pressed  by  the  necessity  of  purchasing  goods  for  my  store;  and  the 
evening  after  my  arrival,  November  8,  1829,  the  Rev.  Dr.  McAuley  married  us 
in  the  presence  of  sundry  friends  and  relatives  of  my  wife,  and  I  became  the 
husband  of  one  of  the  best  women  in  the  world.  In  the  course  of  the  week  we 
went  back  to  Bethel  and  took  board  in  the  family  where  Charity  Barniun  as 
"Chairy  "  Hallett  had  previously  resided. 

I  rto  not  approve  or  recommend  early  marriages.  The  minds  of  men  and 

32 


STRUGGLES   FOR   A    LIVELIHOOD.  33 

women  taking  so  important  a  step  in  life  should  be  matured,  but  although  I  was 
only  little  more  than  nineteen  years  old  when  I  was  married,  I  have  always  felt 
assured  that  if  I  had  waited  twenty  years  longer  I  could  not  have  found  another 
woman  so  well  suited  to  my  disposition  and  so  aiimirable  and  valuable  in  every 
character  as  a  wife,  a  mother,  and  a  friend. 

In  the  winter  of  1829-30,  my  lottery  business  had  so  extended  that  I  had  branch 
offices  in  Danbury,  Norwalk,  Stamford  and  Middletown,  as  well  as  agencies  in 
the  small  villages  for  thirty  miles  around  Bethel.  I  had  also  purchased  from  my 
grandfather  three  acres  of  laud  on  which  I  built  a  house  and  went  to  housekeej 
ing.  My  lottery  business,  which  was  with  a  few  large  customers,  was  so  arranged 
that  I  could  safely  entrust  it  to  an  agent,  making  it  necessary  for  me  to  find  some 
other  field  for  my  individual  enterprise. 

So  I  tried  my  hand  as  an  auctioneer  in  the  book  trade,  traveling  about  the 
country,  but  at  Newburgh,  New  York,  several  of  my  best  books  were  stolen,  and 
I  quit  the  business  in  disgust. 

In  July,  1831,  my  uncle,  Alanson  Taylor,  and  myself  opened  a  country  store  in 
a  building,  which  I  had  put  up  in  Bethel  in  the  previous  spring,  and  we  '••tocked 
the  "yellow  store,"  as  it  was  called,  with  a  full  assortment  of  groceries,  hard- 
ware, crockery,  and  "notions;"  but  we  were  not  successful  in  the  enterprise, 
and  in  October  following,  I  bought  out  my  uncle's  interest  and  we  dissolved 
partnership. 

About  this  time,  circumstances,  partly  religious  and  partly  political  in  their 
character,  led  me  into  still  another  fie1  A  of  enterprise  which  honorably  opened 
to  me  that  notorietv  o£  *iucu  in  later  lite  I  surely  have  had  a  surfeit.  Consider- 
ing my  youth,  this  new  enterprise  reflected  credit  upon  my  ability,  as  well  as 
energy,  and  so  I  may  be  excused  if  I  now  recur  to  it  with  something  like  pride 
In  a  period  of  strong  political  excitement,  1  wrote  several  communications  for 
the  Danbury  weekly  paper,  setting  forth  what  I  conceived  to  be  the  dangers  of  a 
sectarian  interference  which  was  then  apparent  in  political  affairs.  The  publica- 
tion of  these  communications  was  refused,  and  I  accordingly  purchased  a  press 
and  types,  and  October  19,  1831,  I  issued  the  first  number  of  my  own  paper,  The 
Herald  of  Freedom. 

I  entered  upon  the  editorship  of  this  journal  with  all  the  vigor  and  vehemence 
of  youth.  The  boldness  with  which  the  paper  was  conducted  soon  excited  wide- 
spread attention  and  commanded  a  circulation  which  extended  beyond  the  imme- 
diate locality  into  nearly  every  State  in  the  Union.  But  lacking  that  experience 
which  induces  caution,  and  without  the  dread  of  consequences,  I  frequently  laid 
myself  open  to  the  charge  of  libel,  and  three  times  in  three  years  I  was  prosecuted. 
A  Danbury  butcher,  a  zealous  politician,  brought  a  civil  suit  against  me  for  accus- 
ing him  of  being  a  spy  in  a  Democratic  caucus.  On  the  first  trial  the  jury  did 
not  agree,  but  after  a  second  trial  I  was  fined  several  hundred  dollars.  Anothei 
libel  suit  against  me  was  withdrawn.  The  third  was  sufficiently  important  to 
warrant  the  following  detail: 

A  criminal  prosecution  was  brought  against  me  for  stating  in  my  paper  that  a 
man  in  Bethel,  prominent  in  church,  had  "been  guilty  of  taking  usury  of  an 
orphan  boy,"  and  for  severely  commenting  on  the  fact  in  my  editorial  columns. 
When  the  case  came  to  trial  the  truth  of  my  statement  was  substantially  proved 
by  several  witaesses  and  even  by  the  prosecuting  party.  But  "the  greater  the 
truth,  the  greater  the  libel,"  and  then  I  had  used  the  term  "usury,"  instead  of 
extortion,  or  note-shaving,  or  some  other  expression  which  might  have  softened 

Z* 


34  STRUGGLES   FOR   A    LIVELIHOOD. 

the  verdict.    The  result  was  that  I  was  sentenced  to  pay  a  fine  of  one  hundred 
dollars  and  to  be  imprisoned  in  the  common  jail  for  sixty  days. 

The  most  comfortable  provision  was  made  for  me  in  Danbury  jaiL  My  room 
was  papered  and  carpeted;  I  lived  well;  I  was  overwhelmed  with  the  constant 
visits  of  my  friends;  I  edited  my  paper  as  usual  and  received  large  accessions  to 
my  subscription  list;  and  at  the  end  of  my  sixty  days'  term  the  event  was  cele- 
brated by  a  large  concourse  of  people  from  the  surrounding  country.  The  court 
room  in  which  I  was  convicted  was  the  scene  of  the  celebration.  An  ode,  written 
for  the  occasion,  was  sung;  an  eloquent  oration  on  the  freedom  of  the  press  was 
delivered;  and  several  hundred  gentlemen  afterwards  partook  of  a  sumptuous 
dinner  followed  by  appropriate  toasts  and  speeches.  Then  came  the  triumphant 
part  of  the  ceremonial,  which  was  reported  in  my  paper  of  December  12,  1832, 
as  follows: 

"  P.  T.  BAKNUM  and  the  band  of  music  took  their  seats  in  a  coach  drawn  by  six  horses, 
which  had  been  prepared  for  the  occasion.  The  coach  was  preceded  by  forty  horsemen, 
and  a  marshal,  bearing  the  national  standard.  Immediately  in  the  rear  of  the  coach  was 
the  carriage  of  the  orator  and  the  President  of  the  day,  followed  by  the  committee  of 
arrangements  and  sixty  carriages  of  citizens,  which  joined  in  escorting  the  editor  to  his 
home  in  Bethel.* 

"  When  the  procession  commenced  its  march  amidst  the  roar  of  cannon,  three  cheers 
were  given  by  several  hundred  citizens  who  did  not  join  in  the  procession.  The  band  of 
music  continued  to  play  a  variety  of  national  airs  until  their  arrival  in  Bethel  (a  distance 
of  three  miles),  when  they  struck  up  the  beautiful  and  appropriate  tune  of  'Home,  Sweet 
Home!'  After  giving  three  hearty  cheers,  the  procession  returned  to  Danbury.  The 
utmost  harmony  and  unanimity  of  feeling  prevailed  throughout  the  day,  and  we  are  happy 
to  add  that  no  accident  occurred  to  mar  the  festivities  of  the  occasion." 

My  editorial  career  was  one  of  continual  contest.  I  however  published  the 
160th  number  of  The  Herald  of  Freedom,  in  Danbury,  November  5,  1834,  after 
which  my  brother-in-law,  John  "W.  Amerman,  issued  the  paper  forme  at  Nor 
walk  till  the  following  year,  when  the  Herald  was  sold  to  Mr.  George  Taylor. 

Meanwhile,  I  had  taken  Horace  Fairchild  into  partnership  in  my  mercantile 
business,  in  183],  and  I  had  sold  out  to  him  and  to  a  Mr.  Toucey,  in  1833,  they 
forming  a  partnership  under  the  firm  of  Fairchild  &  Co.  So  far  as  I  was  con- 
cerned, my  store  was  not  a  success.  Ordinary  trade  was  too  slow  for  me.  I 
bought  largely  and  in  order  to  sell  I  was  obliged  to  give  extensive  credits.  Hence 
I  had  an  accumulation  of  bad  debts:  and  my  old  ledger  presents  a  long  series  of 
accounts  balanced  by  "death,"  by  "running  away,"  by  "failing,"  and  by  other 
similarly  remunerative  returns. 

There  was  nothing  more  for  me  to  do  in  Bethel;  and  in  the  winter  of  1834-5,  I 
removed  my  family  to  New  York,  where  I  hired  a  house  in  Hudson  street.  I 
tiad  no  pecuniary  resources,  excepting  such  as  might  be  derived  from  debts  left 
for  collection  with  my  agent  at  Bethel,  and  I  went  to  the  metropolis  literally  to 
seek  my  fortune.  I  hoped  to  secure  a  situation  in  some  mercantile  house,  not  at 
a  fixed  salary,  but  so  as  to  derive  such  portion  of  the  profits  as  might  be  due  to 
my  individizal  tact,  energy,  and  perseverance  in  the  interests  of  the  business. 
But  I  could  find  no  such  position;  my  resources  began  to  fail ;  my  family  were 
in  ill  health;  I  must  do  something  for  a  living;  and  so  I  acted  as  "drummer  "  to 
several  stores  which  allowed  me  a  small  commission  on  sales  to  customers  of  my 
introduction. 

Nor  did  all  my  efforts  secure  a  situation  for  me  during  the  whole  winter;  but 
in  the  spring,  I  received  several  hundred  dollars  from  my  agent  in  Bethel,  and 

*  See  illustration,  page  36. 


STRUGGLES    FOR    A    LIVELIHOOD.  35 

finding  no  better  business,  May  1,  1835,  I  opened  a  small  private  boarding-house 
at  No.  52  Frankfort  street.  We  soon  had  a  very  good  run  of  custom  ^rom  our 
Connecticut  acquaintances  who  had  occasion  to  visit  New  York,  and  as  this 
business  did  not  sufficiently  occupy  my  time,  I  bought  an  interest  with  Mr.  John 
Moody  in  a  grocery  store,  No.  156  South  street. 

Although  the  years  of  manhood  brought  cares,  anxieties,  and  struggles  for  a 
livelihood,  they  did  not  change  my  nature  and  the  jocose  element  was  still  an 
essential  ingredient  of  my  being.  I  loved  fun,  practical  fun,  for  itself  and  for 
the  enjoyment  which  it  brought.  During  the  year,  I  occasionally  visited  Bridge- 
port where  I  almost  always  found  at  the  hotel  a  noted  joker,  named  Barrow, 
who  spared  neither  friend  nor  foe  in  his  tricks.  He  was  the  life  of  the  bar-room 
and  would  always  try  to  entrap  some  stranger  in  a  bet  and  so  win  a  treat  for  the 
company.  He  made  several  ineffectual  attempts  upon  me,  and  at  last,  one  even- 
ing, Darrow,  who  stuttered,  made  a  final  trial  as  follows:  "Come,  Barnum,  I'll 
make  you  another  proposition;  I'll  bet  you  hain't  got  a  whole  shirt  on  your  back." 
The  catch  consists  in  the  fact  that  generally  only  one-half  of  that  convenient 
garment  is  on  the  back;  but  I  had  anticipated  the  proposition — in  fact  I  had 
induced  a  friend,  Mr.  Hough,  to  put  Darrow  up  to  the  trick — and  had  folded  a 
shirt  nicely  upon  my  back,  securing  it  there  with  my  suspenders.  The  bar-room 
was  crowded  with  customers  who  thought  that  if  I  made  the  bet  I  should  b< 
nicely  caught,  and  I  made  pretense  of  playing  off  and  at  the  same  time  stim- 
ulated Darrow  to  press  the  bet  by  saying: 

" That  is  a  foolish  bet  to  make;  I  am  sure  my  shirt  is  whole  because  it  is  nearly 
new;  but  I  don't  like  to  bet  on  such  a  subject." 

"A  good  reason  why,"  said  Darrow,  in  great  glee;  "it's  ragged.  Come,  I'll 
bet  you  a  treat  for  the  whole  company  you  haint  got  a  whole  shirt  on  your 
b-b-b-back!" 

"  I'll  bet  my  shirt  is  cleaner  than  yours,"  I  replied. 

"  That's  nothing  to  do  w-w-with  the  case;  it's  ragged,  and  y-y-you  know  it." 

"  I  know  it  is  not,"  I  replied,  with  pretended  anger,  which  caused  the  crowd  to 
laugh  heartily. 

"You  poor  ragged  f-f-fellow,  comedown  here  from  D-D-Danbury,  I'm  sorry 
for  you,"  said  Darrow  tantalizingly. 

"  You  would  not  pay  if  you  lost,"  I  remarked. 

"Here's  f-f-five  dollars  I'll  put  in  Captain  Hinman's  (the  landlord's)  hands. 
Now  b-b-bet  if  you  dare,  you  ragged  c-c-creature,  you." 

I  put  five  dollars  in  Captain  Hinman's  hands,  and  told  him  to  treat  the  com 
pany  from  it  if  I  lost  the  bet. 

"Remember,"  said  Darrow,  "I  b-b-bet  you  hain't  got  a  whole  shirt  on  your 
b-b-back!" 

"All  right,"  said  I,  taking  off  my  coat  and  commencing  to  unbutton  my  vest. 
The  whole  company,  feeling  sure  that  I  was  caught,  began  to  laugh  heartily. 
Old  Darrow  fairly  danced  with  delight,  and  as  I  laid  my  coat  on  a  chair  he  came 
running  up  in  front  of  me,  and  slapping  his  hands  together,  exclaimed: 

"You  needn't  t-t-take  off  any  more  c-c-clothes,  for  if  it  ain't  all  on  your 
b-b-back,  you've  lost  it." 

"If  it  is,  I  suppose  you  have!"  I  replied,  pulling  the  whole  shirt  from  off  my 
back! 

Such  a  shriek  of  laughter  as  burst  forth  from  the  crowd  I  scarcely  ever  heard, 
and  certainly  such  a  blank  countenance  as  old  Darrow  exhibited  it  would  be  hard 
to  conceive.  Seeing  that  he  was  most  incontinently  "done  for,"  and  perceiving 


36  STRUCWLES    FOR   A    LIVELIHOOD. 

that  his  neighbor  Hough  had  helped  to  do  it,  he  ran  up  to  him  in  great  auger 
and  shaking  his  fist  in  his  face  exclaimed: 

"  H-H-Hough,  you  infemal  r-r-rascal,  to  go  against  your  own  neighbor  in  favor 
of  a  D-D-Danbury  man.  I'll  pay  you  for  that  some  time,  you  see  if  I  d-d-don't." 

All  hands  went  up  to  the  bar  and  drank  with  a  hearty  good  will,  for  it  was 
seldom  that  Darrow  got  taken  in,  and  he  was  such  an  inveterate  joker  they  liked 
to  see  him  paid  in  his  own  coin.  Never  til]  the  day  of  his  death  did  he  hear  the 
last  of  th«»  "  whole  shirt." 


CHAPTER    V. 

MY   START   AS    A   SHOWMAN. 

BY  this  time  it  was  clear  to  my  mind  that  my  proper  position  in  this  busy 
world  was  not  yet  reached.  The  business  for  which  I  was  destined,  and,  1 
believe,  made,  had  not  yet  come  to  me.  I  had  not  found  that  I  was  to  cater  for 
that  insatiate  want  of  human  nature — the  love  of  amusement;  that  I  was  to 
make  a  sensation  on  two  continents;  and  that  fame  and  fortune  awaited  me  so 
soon  as  I  should  appear  before  the  public  in  the  character  of  a  showman. 

The  show  business  has  all  phases  and  grades  of  dignity,  from  the  exhibition  of 
a  monkey  to  the  exposition  of  that  highest  art  in  music  or  the  drama,  which 
entrances  empires  and  secures  for  the  gifted  artist  a  world-wide  fame  which 
princes  well  might  envy.  Men,  women  and  children,  who  cannot  live  on  gravity 
alone,  need  something  to  satisf y  their  gayer,  lighter  moods  and  hours,  and  he 
who  ministers  to  this  want  is  in  a  business  established  by  the  Author  of  our 
nature.  If  he  worthily  fulfils  his  mission,  and  amuses  without  corrupting,  he 
need  never  feel  that  he  has  lived  in  vain. 

The  least  deserving  of  all  my  efforts  in  the  show  line  was  the  one  which  intro- 
duced me  to  the  business  ;  a  scheme  in  no  sense  of  my  own  devising;  one  which 
had  been  some  time  before  the  public  and  which  had  so  many  vouchers  for  its 
genuineness  that  at  the  time  of  taking  possession  of  it  I  honestly  believed  it  to  be 
genuine. 

In  the  summer  of  1835,  Mr.  Coley  Bartram,  of  Reading,  Connecticut,  informed 
me  that  he  had  owned  an  interest  in  a  remarkable  negro  woman  whom  he 
believed  to  be  one  hundred  and  sixty-one  years  old,  and  whom  he  also  believed 
to  have  been  the  nurse  of  General  Washington.  He  then  showed  me  a  copy  of 
the  following  advertisement  in  the  Pennsylvania  Inquirer,  of  July  15,  1835 : 
• 

CURIOSITY.— The  citizens  of  Philadelphia  and  its  vicinity  have  an  opportunity  of  witness- 
ing at  the  Masonic  Hall,  one  of  the  greatest  natural  curiosities  ever  witnessed,  viz.:  JOICB 
HETH,  a  negress,  aged  101  years,  who  formerly  belonged  to  the  father  of  General  Wash- 
ington. She  has  been  a  member  of  the  Baptist  Church  one  hundred  and  sixteen  years,  and 
can  rehearse  many  hymns,  and  sing  them  according  to  former  custom.  She  was  born  near 
the  old  Potomac  River  in  Virginia,  and  has  for  ninety  or  one  hundred  years  lived  in  Paris, 
Kentucky,  with  the  BoA'ling  family. 

All  who  have  seen  this  extraordinary  woman  are  satisfied  of  the  truth  of  the  account  of 
her  age.  The  evidence  of  the  Bowling  family,  which  is  respectable,  is  strong,  but  the 
original  bill  of  sale  of  Augustine  Washington,  in  his  own  hand-writing,  and  other  evidences 
which  the  proprietor  has  in  his  possession,  will  satisfy  even  the  most  incredulous. 

A  lady  will  attend  at  the  hall  during  the  afternoon  and  evening  for  the  accommodation  of 
those  ladies  who  may  call. 

Mr.  Bartram  further  stated  that  he  had  sold  out  his  interest  to  his  partner,  R. 
W.  Lindsay,  of  Jefferson  county,  Kentucky,  who  was  then  exhibiting  Joice 
Heth  in  Philadelphia,  but  was  anxious  to  sell  out  and  go  home — the  alleged 
reason  being  that  he  had  very  little  tact  as  a  showman.  As  the  New  York  papers 
had  also  contained  some  account  of  Joice  Heth,  I  went  on  to  Philadelphia  to  3ee 
Mr,  Liusday  and  his  exhibition. 

37 


38  MY   START    AS    A    SHOWMAN. 

Joice  Heth  was  certainly  a  remarkable  curiosity,  and  she  looked  as  if  she 
might  have  been  far  older  than  her  age  as  advertised.  She  was  apparently  in 
good  health  and  spirits,  but  from  age  or  disease,  or  both,  was  unable  to  change 
her  position;  she  could  move  one  arm  at  will,  but  her  lower  limbs  could  not  be 
straightened;  her  left  arm  lay  across  her  breast  and  she  could  not  remove  it;  the 
fingers  of  her  left  hand  were  drawn  down  so  as  nearly  to  close  it,  and  were 
fixed;  the  nails  on  that  hand  were  almost  four  inches  long  and  extended  above 
her  wrist ;  the  nails  on  her  large  toes  had  grown  to  the  thickness  of  a  quarter  of 
on  inch;  her  head  was  covered  with  a  thick  bush  of  grey  hair;  but  she  was  tooth- 
less and  totally  blind,  and  her  eyes  had  sunk  so  deeply  in  the  sockets  as  to  have 
disappeared  altogether. 

Nevertheless  she  was  pert  and  sociable  and  would  talk  as  long  as  people  would 
converse  with  her.  She  was  quite  garrulous  about  her  protege  "dear  little 
George,"  at  whose  birth  she  declared  she  was  present,  having  been  at  the  time  a 
slave  of  Elizabeth  Atwood,  a  half-sister  of  Augustine  Washington,  the  father  of 
George  Washington.  As  nurse  she  put  the  first  clothes  on  the  infant,  and  she 
claimed  to  have  "raised  him."  She  professed  to  be  a  member  of  the  Baptist 
church,  talking  much  in  her  way  on  religious  subjects,  and  she  sang  a  variety  of 
ancient  hymns. 

In  proof  of  her  extraordinary  age  and  pretensions,  Mr.  Lindsay  exhibited  a 
bill  of  sale,  dated  February  5,  1727,  from  Augustine  Washington,  county  of 
Westmoreland,  Virginia,  to  Elizabeth  Atwood,  a  half-sister  and  neighbor  of  Mr. 
Washington,  conveying  "one  negro  woman  named  Joice  Heth,  aged  fifty-four 
years,  for  and  in  consideration  of  the  sum  of  thirty -three  pounds  lawful  money 
of  Virginia."  It  was  further  claimed  that  she  had  long  been  a  nurse  in  the 
Washington  family ;  she  was  called  in  at  the  birth  of  George  and  clothed  the  new- 
born infant.  The  evidence  seemed  authentic,  and  hi  answer  to  the  inquiry  why 
so  remarkable  a  discovery  had  not  been  made  before,  a  satisfactory  explanation 
was  given  in  the  statement  that  she  had  been  carried  from  Virginia  to  Kentucky, 
had  been  on  the  plantation  of  John  S.  Bowling  so  long  that  no  one  knew  or  cared 
how  old  she  was,  and  only  recently  the  accidental  discovery  by  Mr.  Bowling's 
son  of  the  old  bill  of  sale  in  the  Record  Office  in  Virginia  had  led  to  the  identifi- 
cation of  this  negro  woman  as  "the  nurse  of  Washington." 

Everything  seemed  so  straightforward  that  I  was  anxious  to  become  proprietor 
of  this  novel  exhibition,  which  was  offered  to  me  at  one  thousand  dollars,  though 
the  price  first  demanded  was  three  thousand.  I  had  five  hundred  dollars,  bor- 
rowed five  hundred  dollars  more,  sold  out  my  interest  in  the  grocery  business  to 
my  partner,  and  began  life  as  a  showman.  At  the  outset  of  my  career  I  saw 
that  everything  depended  upon  getting  the  people  to  think,  and  talk,  and  become 
curious  and  excited  over  and  about  the  "rare  spectacle."  Accordingly,  posters, 
transparencies,  advertisements,  newspaper  paragraphs — all  calculated  to  extort 
attention — were  employed,  regardless  of  expense.  My  exhibition  rooms  in  New 
York,  Boston,  Philadelphia,  Albany,  and  in  other  large  and  small  cities,  were 
continually  thronged  and  much  money  was  made.  In  the  following  February, 
Joice  Heth  died,  literally  of  old  age,  and  her  remains  received  a  respectable 
burial  in  the  town  of  BetheL 

At  a  post-mortem  examination  of  Joice  Heth  by  Dr.  David  L.  Rogers,  in  the 
presence  of  some  medical  students,  it  was  thought  that  the  absence  of  ossifica- 
tion indicated  considerably  less  age  than  had  been  assumed  for  her; 'but  the 
doctors  disagreed,  and  this  "dark  subject"  will  probably  always  continue  to  be 
shrouded  in  mystery 


MY   8TAKT   AS    A    SHOWMAN.  36 

I  bad  at  last  found  my  true  vocation.  My  next  venture,  whatever  it  maj 
have  been  in  other  respects,  had  the  merit  of  being,  in  every  essential,  unmis- 
takably genuine.  I  engaged  from  the  Albany  Museum  an  Italian  who  called 
himself  "Signer  Antonio"  and  who  performed  certain  remarkable  feats  of 
balancing,  stilt-walking,  plate-spinning,  etc.  I  made  terms  with  him  for  one 
year  to  exhibit  anywhere  in  the  United  States  at  twelve  dollars  a  week  and 
expenses,  and  induced  him  to  change  his  stage  name  to  "Signer  Vivalla."  1 
then  wrote  a  notice  of  his  wonderful  qualities  and  performances,  printed  it  in 
one  of  the  Albany  papers  as  news,  sent  copies  to  the  theatrical  managers  in  New 
York  and  in  other  cities,  and  went  with  Vivalla  to  the  metropolis. 

Manager  William  Dinneford,  of  the  Franklin  Theatre,  had  seen  so  many  per- 
tormances  of  the  kind  that  he  declined  to  engage  my  "eminent  Italian  artist;" 
but  I  persuaded  him  to  try  Vivalla  one  night  for  nothing,  and  by  the  potent  aid 
of  printer's  ink  the  house  was  crammed.  I  appeared  as  a  supernumerary  to  assist 
Vivalla  in  arranging  his  plates  and  other  "properties; "  and  to  hand  him  his  gun 
to  fire  while  he  was  hopping  on  one  stilt  ten  feet  high.  This  was  "my  first 
appearance  on  any  stage."  The  applause  which  followed  Vivalla's  feats  was  tre- 
mendous, and  Manager  Dinneford  was  so  delighted  that  he  engaged  him  for  the 
remainder  of  the  week  at  fifty  dollars.  At  the  close  of  the  performance,  in 
response  to  a  call  from  the  house,  I  made  a  speech  for  Vivalla,  thanking  the  audi- 
ence for  their  appreciation  and  announcing  a  repetition  of  the  exhibition  every 
evening  during  the  week. 

Vivalla  i-emained  a  second  week  at  the  Franklin  Theatre,  for  which  1  received 
$]  50.  I  realized  the  same  sum  for  a  week  in  Boston.  We  then  went  to  Washing- 
ton to  fulfill  an  engagement  which  was  far  from  successful,  since  my  remuneration 
depended  upon  the  receipts,  and  it  snowed  continually  during  the  week.  I  was  a 
loser  to  such  an  extent  that  I  had  not  funds  enough  to  return  to  Philadelphia.  I 
pawned  my  watch  and  chain  for  thirty-five  dollars,  when,  fortunately,  Manager 
Wemyss  arrived  on  Saturday  morning  and  loaned  me  the  money  to  redeem  my 
property. 

As  this  was  my  first  visit  to  Washington,  I  was  much  interested  in  visiting  the 
capitol  and  other  public  buildings.  I  also  satisfied  my  curiosity  in  seeing  Clay, 
Calhoun,  Benton,  John  Quincy  Adams,  Richard  M.  Johnson,  Polk,  and  other 
leading  statesmen  of  the  time.  I  was  also  greatly  gratified  in  calling  upon  Anne 
Royall,  author  of  the  Black  Book,  publisher  of  a  little  paper  called  "  Paul  Pry," 
and  quite  a  celebrated  personage  in  her  day.  I  had  exchanged  The  Herald  of  Free- 
dom with  her  journal,  and  she  strongly  sympathized  with  me  in  my  persecutions. 
She  was  delighted  to  see  me,  and  although  she  was  the  most  garrulous  old  woman 
[  ever  saw,  I  passed  a  very  amusing  and  pleasant  time  with  her.  Before  leaving 
her,  I  manifested  my  showman  propensity  by  trying  to  hire  her  to  give  a  dozen 
or  more  lectures  on  "  Government,"  in  the  Atlantic  cities,  but  I  could  not  engage 
her  at  any  price,  although  I  am  sure  the  speculation  would  have  been  a  very 
profitable  one.  I  never  saw  this  eccentric  woman  again;  she  died  at  a  very 
advanced  age,  October  1,  1854,  at  her  residence  in  Washington. 

I  went  with  Vivalla  to  Philadelphia  and  opened  at  the  Walnut  Street  Theatre. 
Though  Ms  performances  were  very  meritorious  and  were  well  received,  theatri- 
cals were  dull  and  houses  were  slim.  It  was  evident  that  something  must  be  done 
to  stimulate  the  public. 

And  now  that  instinct — I  think  it  must  be — which  can  arouse  a  community  and 
•Bake  it  patronize,  provided  the  article  offered  is  worthy  of  patronage — an  instinct 
#luch  served  me  strangely  in  later  years,  astonishing  the  public  and  surprising 


40  MY    START    AS    A    SHOWMAN. 

me,  came  to  my  relief,  and  the  help,  curiously  enough,  appeared  in  the  shape  of 
an  emphatic  hiss  from  the  pit ! 

This  hiss,  I  discovered,  came  from  one  Roberts,  a  circus  performer,  and  I  had  an 
interview  with  him.  He  was  a  professional  balancer  and  juggler,  who  boasted 
that  he  could  do  all  Vivalla  had  done  and  something  more.  1  at  once  published 
a  card  hi  Vivalla's  name,  offering  ?1,000  to  any  one  who  would  publicly  perform 
Vivalla's  feats  at  such  place  as  should  be  designated,  and  Roberts  issued  a  counter 
card,  accepting  the  offer.  I  then  contracted  with  Mr.  Warren,  treasurer  of  the 
Walnut  Street  Theatre,  for  one-third  of  the  proceeds,  if  I  should  bring  the  receipts 
up  to  $400  a  night — an  agreement  he  could  well  afford  to  make  as  his  receipts  the 
night  before  had  been  but  seventy-five  dollars.  From  him  I  went  to  Roberts, 
who  seemed  disposed  to  "back  down,"  but  I  told  him  I  should  not  insist  upon  the 
terms  of  his  published  card,  and  ask  him  if  he  was  under  any  engagement?  Learn- 
ing that  he  was  not,  I  offered  him  thirty  dollars  to  perform  under  my  direction 
one  night  at  the  Walnut,  and  he  accepted.  A  great  trial  of  skill  between  Roberts 
and  Vivalla  was  duly  announced  by  posters  and  through  the  press.  Meanwhile, 
they  rehearsed  privately  to  see  what  tricks  each  could  perform,  and  the  "busi- 
ness "  was  completely  arranged. 

Public  excitement  was  at  fever  heat,  and  on  the  night  of  the  trial  the  pit  and 
upper  boxes  were  crowded  to  the  full.  The  "contest"  between  the  performers 
was  eager,  and  each  had  his  party  in  the  house.  So  far  as  I  could  learn,  no  one 
complained  that  he  did  n<5t  get  all  he  paid  for  on  that  occasion.  I  engaged  Rob- 
erts for  a  mouth  and  his  subsequent  "contests"  with  Vivalla  amused  the  public 
and  put  money  hi  my  purse. 

In  April,  1836,  I  connected  myself  with  Aaron  Turner's  traveling  circus  com- 
pany as  ticket-seller,  secretary  and  treasurer,  at  thirty  dollars  a  month  and  one- 
fifth  of  the  entire  profits,  while  Vivalla  was  to  receive  a  salary  of  fifty  dollars. 
As  I  was  already  paying  him  eighty  dollars  a  month,  our  joint  salaries  reimbursed 
me  and  left  me  the  chance  of  twenty  per  cent,  of  the  net  receipts.  We  started 
from  Danbury  for  West  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  April  26th,  and  on  the  first 
day,  instead  of  halting  to  dine,  as  I  expected,  Mr.  Turner  regaled  the  whole  com- 
pany with  three  loaves  of  r ye  bread  and  a  pound  of  butter,  bought  at  a  farm 
house  at  a  cost  of  fifty  cents,  and  after  watering  the  horses,  we  went  on  our  way. 

We  began  our  performances  at  West  Springfield,  April  2Sth,  and  as  our  expected 
band  of  music  had  not  arrived  from  Providence,  I  made  a  prefatory  speech 
announcing  our  disappointment,  and  our  intention  to  please  our  patrons,  never- 
theless. The  two  Turner  boys,  sons  of  the  proprietor,  rode  finely.  Joe  Pentland, 
one  of  the  wittiest,  best,  and  most  original  of  clowns,  with  Vivalla's  tricks  and 
other  performances  in  the  ring,  more  than  made  up  for  the  lack  of  music.  In  a 
day  or  two  our  band  arrived  and  our  "houses"  improved.  My  diary  is  full  of 
incidents  of  our  summer  tour  through  numerous  villages,  towns,  and  cities  ii. 
New  England,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Maryland,  Dis 
trict  of  Columbia,  Virginia,  and  North  Carolina. 

While  we  were  at  Cabotville,  Massachusetts,  on  going  to  bed  one  night  one  of 
my  room-mates  threw  a  lighted  stump  of  a  cigar  into  a  spit-box  filled  with  saw- 
dust, and  the  result  was  that  about  one  o'clock  T.  V.  Turner,  who  slept  hi  the  room, 
awoke  in  the  midst  of  a  dense  smoke,  and  barely  managed  to  crawl  to  the  win- 
dow to  open  it,  and  to  awaken  us  in  time  to  save  us  from  suffocation. 

At  Lenox,  Massachusetts,  one  Sunday  I  attended  church  as  usual,  and  the 
preacher  denounced  our  circus  and  all  connected  with  it  as  immoral,  and  was  very 
abusive;  whereupon,  when  he  had  read  the  closing  hymn,  I  walked  up  the  pulpit 


MY    START   AS   A   SHOWMAN.  41 

stall's  and  handed  him  a  written  request,  signed  "P.  T.  Barnum,  connected  with 
the  circus,  June  5th,  1836,"  to  be  permitted  to  reply  to  him.  He  declined  to 
notice  it,  and  after  the  benediction  I  lectured  him  for  not  giving  me  an  opportu- 
nity to  vindicate  myself  and  those  with  whom  I  was  connected.  The  affair 
created  considerable  excitement,  and  some  of  the  members  of  the  church  apolo- 
gized to  me  for  their  clergyman's  ill-behavior.  A  similar  affair  happened  after- 
wards at  Port  Deposit,  OIL  the  lower  Susquehanna,  and  in  this  instance  I  addressed 
the  audience  for  half  an  hour,  defending  the  circus  company  against  the  attacks  of 
the  clergyman,  and  the  people  listened,  though  their  pastor  repeatedly  implored 
them  to  go  home.  Often  have  I  collected  our  company  on  Sunday  and  read  to  them 
the  Bible  or  a  printed  sermon,  and  one  or  more  of  the  men  frequently  accompanied 
me  to  church.  We  made  no  pretence  of  religion,  but  we  were  not  the  worst 
people  in  the  world,  and  we  thought  ourselves  entitled  to  at  least  decent  treatment 
when  we  went  to  hear  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel. 

The  proprietor  of  the  circus,  Aaron  Turner,  was  a  self-made  man,  who  had 
acquired  a  large  fortune  by  his  industry.  He  believed  that  any  man  with  health 
and  common  sense  could  become  rich  if  he  only  resolved  to  be  so,  and  he  was 
very  proud  of  the  fact  that  he  began  the  world  with  no  advantages,  no  educa- 
tion, and  without  a  shilling.  Withal,  he  was  a  practical  joker,  as  I  more  thai] 
once  discovered  to  my  cost.  While  we  were  at  Annapolis,  Maryland,  he  played 
a  trick  upon  me  which  was  fun  to  him,  but  was  very  nearly  death  to  me. 

We  arrived  on  Saturday  night,  and  as  I  felt  quite  "  flush  "  I  bought  a  fine  suit 
of  black  clothes.  On  Sunday  morning  I  dressed  myself  in  my  new  suit  and 
started  out  for  a  stroll.  While  passing  through  the  bar-room  Turner  called  the 
attention  of  the  company  present  to  me  and  said: 

"  I  think  it  very  singular  you  permit  that  rascal  to  march  your  streets  in  open 
day.  It  wouldn't  be  allowed  in  Rhode  Island,  and  I  suppose  that  is  the  reason 
the  black-coated  scoundrel  has  come  down  this  way." 

"  Why,  who  is  he?"  asked  half  a  dozen  at  once. 

"  Don't  you  know?  Why  that  is  the  Rev.  E.  K.  Avery,  the  murderer  of  Miss 
Cornell!" 

"  Is  it  possible! "  they  exclaimed,  all  starting  for  the  door,  eager  to  get  a  look  at 
me,  and  swearing  vengeance. 

It  was  only  recently  that  the  Rev.  Ephraim  K.  Avery  had  been  tried  in  Rhode 
Island  for  the  murder  of  Miss  Cornell,  whose  body  was  discovered  in  a  stack- 
yard, and  though  Avery  was  acquitted  in  court,  the  general  sentiment  of  the 
country  condemned  him.  It  was  this  Avery  whom  Turner  made  me  represent. 
I  had  not  walked  far  in  my  fine  clothes,  before  I  was  overtaken  by  a  mob  of  a 
dozen,  which  rapidly  increased  to  at  least  a  hundred,  and  my  ears  were  suddenly 
saluted  with  such  observations  as,  "the  lecherous  old  hypocrite,"  "the  sanctified 
murderer,"  "the  black-coated  villian,"  "lynch  the  scoundrel,"  "let's  tar  and 
feather  him,"  and  like  remarks  which  I  had  no  idea  applied  to  me  till  one  man 
seized  me  by  the  collar,  while  five  or  six  more  appeared  on  the  scene  with  a  rail. 

"  Come,"  said  the  man  who  collared  me,  "old  chap,  you  can't  walk  any  further; 
we  know  you,  and  as  we  always  make  gentlemen  ride  in  these  parts,  you  may 
just  prepare  to  straddle  that  rail! " 

My  surprise  may  be  imagined.  "Good  heavens!"  I  exclaimed,  as  they  all 
pressed  around  me,  "gentlemen,  what  have  I  done?" 

"Oh,  we  know  you,"  exclaimed  half  a  dozen  voices;  "you  needn't  roll  your 
sanctimonious  eyes;  that  game  don't  take  in  this  country  Come,  straddle  the 
rail,  and  remember  the  stack-yard  ' " 


42  MY    START   AS   A   SHOWMAN. 

l  grew  more  and  more  bewildered;  I  could  not  imagine  what  possible  offence  I 
was  to  suffer  for,  and  I  continued  to  exclaim,  "Gentlemen,  what  have  I  done?" 
Don't  kill  me,  gentlemen,  .but  tell  me  what  1  have  done." 

"Come,  make  him  straddle  the  rail;  we'll  show  him  how  to  hang  poor  factory 
girls,"  shouted  a  man  in  the  crowd. 

The  man  who  had  me  by  the  collar  then  remarked,  "Come,  Mr.  Avery,  it's  m.- 
use,  you  see,  we  know  you,  and  we'll  give  you  a  touch  of  Lynch  law,  and  start 
you  for  home  again." 

"My  name  is  not  Avery,  gentlemen;  you  are  mistaken  in  your  man,"  1 
exclaimed. 

"Come,  come,  none  of  your  gammon;  straddle  the  rail,  Ephraim." 

The  rail  was  brought  and  I  was  about  to  be  placed  on  it,  when  the  truth  flashed 
upon  me. 

"Gentlemen,"  I  exclaimed,  "I  am  not  Avery;  I  despise  that  villain  as  much  as 
you  can;  my  name  is  Bamum;  I  belong  to  the  circus  which  arrived  here  last 
night,  and  I  am  sure  Old  Turner,  my  partner,  has  hoaxed  you  with  this  ridicu- 
lous story." 

"If  he  has  we'll  lynch  him,"  said  one  of  the  mob. 

"Well,  he  has,  I'll  assure  you,  and  if  you  will  walk  to  the  hotel  with  me,  I'll 
convince  you  of  the  fact." 

This  they  reluctantly  assented  to,  keeping,  however,  a  close  hand  upon  me.  As 
we  walked  up  the  main  street,  the  mob  received  a  re-enforcement  of  some  fifty 
or  sixty,  and  I  was  marched  like  a  malefactor  up  to  the  hotel  Old  Turner  stood 
on  the  piazza  ready  to  explode  with  laughter.  I  appealed  to  him  for  heaven's 
sake  to  explain  this  matter,  that  I  might  be  liberated.  He  continued  to  laugh, 
but  finally  told  them  "  he  believed  there  was  some  mistake  about  it.  The  fact  is," 
said  he,  "my  friend  Barnum  has  a  new  suit  of  black  clothes  on  and  he  looks  so 
much  like  a  priest  that  I  thought  he  must  be  Avery." 

The  crowd  saw  the  joke  and  seemed  satisfied.  My  new  coat  had  been  half  torn 
from  my  back,  and  I  had  been  very  roughly  handled.  But  some  of  the  crowd 
apologized  for  the  outrage,  declaring  that  Turner  ought  to  be  served  in  the  same 
way,  while  others  advised  me  to  "get  even  with  him."  I  was  very  much 
offended,  and  when  the  mob  dispersed  I  asked  Turner  what  could  have  induced 
him  to  play  such  a  trick  upon  me. 

"My  dear  Mr.  Barnum,"  he  replied,  "it  was  all  for  our  good.  Remember,  all 
we  need  to  insure  success  is  notoriety.  You  will  see  that  this  will  be  noised  all 
about  town  as  a  trick  played  by  one  of  the  circus  managers  upon  the  other,  and 
our  pavilion  will  be  crammed  to-morrow  night." 

It  was  even  so ;  the  trick  "was  told  all  over  town  and  every  one  came  to  see  the 
circus  managers  who  were  in  a  habit  of  playing  practical  jokes  upon  each  other. 
We  had  fine  audiences  while  we  remained  at  Annapolis,  but  it  was  a  long  tim* 
lief  ore  I  forgave  Turner  for  his  rascally  "  joke." 


CHAPTER    VI. 

MY    FIRST   TRAVELING    COMPANY. 

AN  amusing  incident  occurred  when  we  were  at  Hanover  Court  House,  in  Vir 
ginia.  It  rained  so  heavily  that  we  could  not  perform  there,  and  Turner  decided 
to  start  for  Richmond  immediately  after  dinner,  when  he  was  informed  by  the 
landlord  that  as  our  agent  had  engaged  three  meals  and  lodging  for  the  whole 
company,  the  entire  bill  must  be  paid  whether  we  went  then,  or  next  morning 
No  compromise  could  be  effected  with  the  stubborn  landlord,  and  so  Turner 
proceeded  to  get  the  worth  of  his  money  as-follows: 

He  ordered  dinner  at  twelve  o'clock,  which  was  duly  prepared  and  eaten.  The 
table  was  cleared  and  re-set  for  supper  at  half -past  twelve.  At  one  o'clock  we  all 
went  to  bed,  every  man  carrying  a  lighted  candle  to  his  room.  There  were  thirty- 
six  of  us  and  we  all  undressed  and  tumbled  into  bed  as  if  we  were  going  to  stay 
all  night.  In  half  an  hour  we  rose  and  went  down  to  the  hot  breakfast  which 
Turner  had  demanded  and  which  we  found  smoking  on  the  table.  Turner  was 
very  grave,  the  landlord  was  exceedingly  angry,  and  the  rest  of  us  were  convulsed 
with  laughter  at  the  absurdity  of  the  whole  proceeding.  We  disposed  of  our 
breakfast  as  if  we  had  eaten  nothing  for  ten  hours,  and  then  started  for  Richmond 
with  the  satisfaction  that  we  fairly  settled  with  our  unreasonable  landlord. 

At  Richmond,  after  performances  were  over  one  night,  I  managed  to  partially 
pay  Turner  for  his  A  very  trick.  A  dozen  or  more  of  us  were  enjoying  ourselves  in 
the  sitting-room  of  the  hotel,  telling  stories  and  singing  songs,  when  some  of  the 
company  proposed  sundry  amusing  arithmetical  questions,  followed  by  one  from 
Turner  which  was  readily  solved.  Hoping  to  catch  Turner  I  then  proposed  the 
following  problem : 

"Suppose  a  man  is  thirty  years  of  age,  and  he  has  a  child  one  year  of  age; 
he  is  thirty  times  older  than  his  child.  When  the  child  is  thirty  years  old,  the 
father,  being  sixty,  is  only  twice  as  old  as  his  child,  When  the  child  is  sixty  the 
father  is  ninety,  and  therefore  only  one-third  older  than  the  child.  When  the 
child  is  ninety  the  father  is  one  hundred  and  twenty,  and  therefore  only  one- 
fourth  older  than  the  child.  Thus  you  see,  the  child  is  gradually  but  surely  gain- 
ing on  the  parent,  and  as  he  certainly  continues  to  come  nearer  and  nearer,  in  time 
he  must  overtake  him.  The  question  therefore  is,  suppose  it  was  possible  for  them 
to  live  long  enough,  how  old  would  the  father  be  when  the  child  overtook  him 
and  became  of  the  same  age?" 

The  company  generally  saw  the  catch ;  but  Turner  was  very  much  interested 
in  the  problem,  and  although  he  admitted  he  knew  nothing  about  arithmetic,  he 
was  convinced  that  as  the  son  was  gradually  gaining  on  the  father  he  must  reach 
him  if  there  was  time  enough — say,  a  thousand  years,  or  so — for  the  race.  But 
an  old  gentleman  gravely  remarked  that  the  idea  of  a  son  becoming  as  old  as  his 
father  while  both  were  living,  was  simply  nonsense,  and  he  offered  to  bet  a  dozen 
of  champagne  that  the  thing  was  impossible,  even  "in  figures."  Turner,  who 
was  a  betting  man,  and  who  thought  the  problem  might  be  proved,  accepted  the 
wager;  but  he  was  soon  convinced  that  however  much  the  boy  might  relatively 

43 


44  MY    FIRST  TRAVELING   COMPANY. 

gain  upon  his  father,  there  would  always  be  thirty  years  difference  in  their  agt» 
The  champagne  cost  him  $25,  and  he  failed  to  see  the  fun  of  my  arithmetic, 
though  at  last  he  acknowledged  that  it  was  a  fair  offset  to  the  Avpry  trick. 

We  went  from  Richmond  to  Petersburg,  and  from  that  place  to  Warrenton, 
North  Carolina,  where,  October  30th,  my  engagement  expired  with  a  profit  to 
myself  of  $1,200.  I  now  separated  from  the  circus  company,  taking  Vivalla, 
James  Sandford  (a  negro  singer  and  dancer),  several  musicians,  horses,  wagons, 
and  a  small  canvas  tent  with  which  I  intended  to  begin  a  traveling  exhibition  of 
my  own.  My  company  started  and  Turner  took  me  on  the  way  in  his  own  car- 
riage some  twenty  miles.  We  parted  reluctantly,  and  my  friend  wished  me  every 
success  in  my  new  venture. 

On  Saturday,  November  12,  1836,  we  halted  at  Rocky  Mount  Falls,  North  Car- 
olina, and  on  my  way  to  the  Baptist  Church,  Sunday  morning,  I  noticed  a  stand 
and  benches  in  a  grove  near  by,  and  determined  to  speak  to  the  people  if  I  was 
permitted.  The  landlord  who  was  with  me  said  that  the  congregation,  coming 
from  a  distance  to  attend  a  single  service,  would  be  very  glad  to  hear  a  stranger, 
and  1  accordingly  asked  the  venerable  clergyman  to  announce  that  after  service 
I  would  speak  for  half  an  hour  in  the  grove.  Learning  that  I  was  not  a  clergy- 
man, he  declined  to  give  the  notice,  but  said  that  he  had  no  objection  to  my 
making  the  announcement,  which  I  did,  and  the  congregation,  numbering  about 
three  hundred,  promptly  came  to  hear  me. 

I  told  them  I  was  not  a  preacher,  and  had  very  little  experience  in  public 
speaking;  but  I  felt  a  deep  interest  in  matters  of  morality  and  religion,  and 
would  attempt,  in  a  plain  way,  to  set  before  them  the  duties  and  privileges  of 
man.  I  appealed  to  every  man's  experience,  observation  and  reason,  to  confirm 
the  Bible  doctrine  of  wretchedness  in  vice  and  happiness  in  virtue.  We  cannot 
violate  the  laws  of  God  with  impunity,  and  He  will  not  keep  back  the  wages  of 
well-doing.  The  outside  show  of  things  is  of  very  small  account.  We  must  look 
to  realities  and  not  to  appearances.  "  Diamonds  may  glitter  on  a  vicious  breast," 
but  "the  soul's  calm  sunshine  and  the  heart-felt  joy  is  virtue's  prize."  The 
rogue,  the  passionate  man,  the  drunkard,  are  not  to  be  envied  even  at  the  best,  and 
a  conscience  hardened  by  sin  is  the  most  sorrowful  possession  we  can  think  of.  I 
went  on  in  this  way,  with  some  scriptural  quotations  and  familiar  illustrations, 
for  three-quarters  of  an  hour.  At  the  close  of  my  address  several  persons  took 
me  by  the  hand,  expressing  themselves  as  greatly  pleased  and  desiring  to  know 
my  name;  and  I  went  away  with  the  feeling  that  possibly  I  might  have  done 
some  good  in  the  beautiful  grove  on  that  charming  Sunday  morning. 

When  we  were  at  Camden,  South  Carolina,  Sandford  suddenly  left  me,  and  as 
1  had  advertised  negro  songs  and  none  of  my  company  was  competent  to  fill 
Sandf  ord's  place,  not  to  disappoint  my  audience,  I  blacked  myself  and  sung  the 
advertised  songs  "Zip  Coon,"  etc.,  and  to  my  surprise  was  much  applauded, 
while  two  of  the  songs  were  encored.  One  evening,  after  singing  my  songs,  I 
heard  a  disturbance  outside  the  tent,  and  going  to  the  spot  found  a  person  disput- 
ing with  my  men.  I  took  part  on  the  side  of  the  men,  when  the  person  who  was 
quarreling  with  them  drew  a  pistol  and  exclaiming,  "  You  black  scoundrel !  how 
dare  you  use  such  language  to  a  white  man,"  he  proceeded  to  cock  it.  I  saw  that 
he  thought  I  was  a  negro  and  meant  to  blow  my  brains  out.  Quick  as  thought  1 
rolled  my  sleeve  up,  showed  my  skin,  and  said,  "  I  am  as  white  as  you  are,  sir." 
He  dropped  his  pistol  in  positive  fright  and  begged  my  pardon.  My  presence  of 
mind  saved  me. 


MY   FIRST   TRAVELING   COMPANY.  45 

On  four  different  occasions  in  my  life  I  nave  had  a  loaded  pistol  pointed  at  my 
head  and  each  time  I  have  escaped  death  by  what  seemed  a  miracle.  I  have  also 
often  been  in  deadly  peril  by  accidents,  and  when  I  think  of  these  things  I  realize 
my  indebtedness  to  an  all-protecting  Providence.  Reviewing  my  career,  too, 
and  considering  the  kind  of  company  I  kept  for  years  and  the  associations  with 
which  I  was  surrounded  and  connected,  1  am  surprised  as  well  as  grateful  that  1 
was  not  ruined.  I  honestly  believe  that  I  owe  my  preservation  from  the  degra- 
dation of  living  and  dying  a  loafer  and  a  vagabond,  to  the  single  fact  that  I  was 
never  addicted  to  strong  drink.  To  be  sure,  I  have  in  times  past  drank  liquor, 
'nit  I  have  generally  wholly  abstained  from  intoxicating  beverages,  and  for  more 
than  twenty  years  past,  I  am  glad  to  say,  I  have  been  a  strict  "teetotaller." 

At  Camden  I  lost  one  of  my  musicians,  a  Scotchman  named  Cochran,  who  was 
arrested  for  advising  the  negro  barber  who  was  shaving  him  to  run  away  to  the 
Free  States  or  to  Canada.  I  made  every  effort  to  effect  Cochran's  release,  but  he 
was  imprisoned  more  than  six  months. 

I  bought  four  horses  and  two  wagons  and  hired  Jbe  Pentland  and  Robert 
White  to  join  my  company.  White,  as  a  negro  singer,  would  relieve  me  from 
that  roll,  and  Pentland,  besides  being  a  capital  clown,  was  celebrated  as  a  ven- 
triloquist, comic  singer,  balancer,  and  legerdemain  performer.  My  re-enforced 
exhibition  was  called  "  Barnum's  Grand  Scientific  and  Musical  Theatre." 

Some  time  previously,  in  Raleigh,  North  Carolina,  I  had  sold  one-half  of  my 
establishment  to  a  man,  whom  I  will  call  Henry,  who  now  acted  as  treasurer  and 
ticket-taker.  At  Augusta,  Georgia,  the  sheriff  served  a  writ  upon  this  Henry 
for  a  debt  of  $500.  As  Henry  had  $GOO  of  the  company's  money  in  his  possession, 
t  immediately  procured  a  bill  of  sale  of  all  his  property  in  the  exhibition  and 
returned  to  the  theatre  where  Henry's  creditor  and  the  creditor's  lawyer  were 
waiting  for  me.  They  demanded  the  key  of  the  stable  so  as  to  levy  on  the 
horses  and  wagons.  I  begged  delay  till  I  could  see  Henry,  and  they  consented. 
Henry  was  anxious  to  cheat  his  creditor  and  he  at  once  signed  the  bill  of  sale.  1 
returned  and  informed  the  creditor  that  Henry  refused  to  pay  or  compromise 
the(  claim.  The  sheriff  then  demanded  the  keys  of  the  stable  door  to  attach 
Henry's  interest  in  the  property.  "Not  yet,"  said  I,  showing  a  bill  of  sale, 
"  you  see  I  am  in  full  possession  of  the  property  as  entire  owner.  You  confess 
that  you  have  not  yet  levied  on  it,  and  if  you  touch  my  property,  you  do  it  at 
your  peril." 

They  were  very  much  taken  aback,  and  the  sheriff  immediately  conveyed 
Henry  to  prison.  The  next  day  I  learned  that  Henry  owed  his  creditors  thirteen 
hundred  dollars,  and  that  he  had  agreed  when  the  Saturday  evening  performance 
was  ended  to  hand  over  five  hundred  dollars  (company  money)  and  a  bill  of  sale 
of  his  interest,  in  consideration  of  which  one  of  the  horses  was  to  be  ready  for 
him  to  run  away  with,  leaving  me  in  the  lurch!  Learning  this,  I  had  very  little 
sympathy  for  Henry,  and  my  next  step  was  to  secure  the  five  hundred  dollars  he 
bad  secreted.  Vi valla  had  obtained  it  from  him  to  keep  it  from  the  sheriff;  I| 
received  it  from  Vivalla,  on  Henry's  order,  as  a  supposed  means  of  procuring 
bail  for  him  on  Monday  morning.  I  then  paid  the  creditor  the  full  amount 
obtained  from  Henry  as  the  price  of  his  half  interest  in  the  exhibition  and 
received  in  return  an  assignment  of  five  hundred  dollars  of  the  creditor's  claims 
and  a  guaranty  that  I  should  not  be  troubled  by  my  late  partner  on  that  score. 
Thus,  promptness  of  action  and  good  luck  relieved  me  from  one  of  the  most 
unpleasant  positions  in  which  1  had  ever  been  placed. 


46  MY    FIRST  TRAVELING    COMPANTY. 

While  traveling  with  our  teams  and  show  through  a  desolate  part  of  Georgia, 
our  advertiser,  who  was  in  advance  of  the  party,  finding  the  route,  on  one  occa- 
sion, too  long  for  us  to  reach  a  town  at  night,  arranged  with  a  poor  widow 
woman  named  Hayes,  to  furnish  us  with  meals  and  let  us  lodge  in  her  hut  and 
out-houses.  It  was  a  beggarly  place,  belonging  to  one  of  the  poorest  of  "  poor 
whites."  Our  horses  were  to  stand  out  all  night,  and  a  farmer,  six  miles  distant, 
was  to  bring  a  load  of  provender  on  the  day  of  our  arrival  Bills  were  then 
posted  announcing  a  performance  under  a  canvas  tent  near  Widow  Hayes's, 
for,  as  a  show  was  a  rarity  in  that  region,  it  was  conjectured  that  a  hundred  or 
more  small  farmers  and  "poor  whites"  might  be  assembled  and  that  the  receipts 
would  cover  the  expenses. 

Meanwhile,  our  advertiser,  who  was  quite  a  wag,  "wrote  back  informing  us  of 
the  difficulties  of  reaching  a  town  on  that  part  of  our  route,  and  stating  that  he 
had  made  arrangements  for  us  to  stay  over  night  on  the  plantation  of  "  Lady 
Hayes,"  and  that  although  the  country  was  sparsely  settled,  we  could  doubtless 
give  a  profitable  performance  to  a  fair  audience. 

Anticipating  a  fine  time  on  this  noble  "plantation,"  we  started  at  four  o'clock 
in  the  morning  so  as  to  arrive  at  one  o'clock,  thus  avoiding  the  heat  of  the  after- 
noon. Towards  noon  we  came  to  a  small  river  where  some  men,  whom  we 
afterwards  discovered  to  be  down-east  Yankees,  from  Maine,  were  repairing  a 
l>ridge.  Every  flooring  plank  had  been  taken  up,  and  it  was  impossible  for  our 
teams  to  cross.  "  Could  the  bridge  be  fixed  so  that  we  could  go  over? "  I  inquired. 
"  No ;  it  would  take  half  a  day,  and  meantime,  if  we  must  cross,  there  was  a  place 
about  sixteen  miles  down  the  river  where  we  could  get  over.  "But  we  can't 
go  so  far  as  that;  we  are  under  engagement  to  perform  on  Lady  Hayes's 
place  to-night,  and  we  must  cross  here.  Fix  the  bridge  and  we  will  pay  you 
handsomely." 

They  wanted  no  money,  but  if  we  would  give  them  some  tickets  to  our  show 
they  thought  they  might  do  something  for  us.  I  gladly  consented,  and  in  fifteen 
minutes  we  crossed  that  bridge.  The  cunning  rascals  had  seen  our  posters  and 
knew  we  were  coming;  so  they  had  taken  up  the  planks  of  the  bridge  and  had 
I  ridden  them  till  they  had  levied  upon  us  for  tickets,  when  the  floor  was  re-laid 
in  a  quarter  of  an  hour. 

Towards  dinner-time  we  began  to  lookout  for  the  grand  mansion  of  "lady 
Hayes,"  and  seeing  nothing  but  little  huts  we  quietly  pursued  our  journey.  At 
one  o'clock — the  time  when  we  should  have  arrived  at  our  destination — I  became 
impatient,  and  riding  up  to  a  poverty-stricken  hovel  and  seeing  a  ragged,  bare- 
footed old  woman,  with  her  sleeves  rolled  up  to  her  shoulders,  who  was  washing 
clothes  in  front  of  the  door,  I  inquired — 

"Hallo I  can  you  tell  me  where  Lady  Hayes  lives?" 

The  old  woman  raised  her  head,  which  was  covered  with  tangled  locks  and 
matted  hair,  and  exclaimed — 

"Hey?" 

"No,  Hayes,  Lady  Hayes;  where  is  her  plantation?" 

"This  is  the  place,"  she  answered;  "  I'm  Widder  Hayes,  and  you  are  all  to  stay 
here  to-night." 

We  could  not  believe  our  ears  or  eyes;  but  after  putting  the  dirty  old  woman 
through  a  severe  cross-examination  she  finally  produced  a  contract,  signed  by 
our  advertiser,  agreeing  for  board  and  lodging  for  the  company,  and  we  found 
ourselves  booked  for  the  night.  It  appeared  that  our  advertiser  could  find  110 
totter  quarters  in  that  forlorn  section,  and  he  had  indulged  in  a  joke  at  our 


M-y    FIRST  TRAVELING   OOMPANY.  47 

expense  by  exciting  our  appetites  and  imaginations  in  anticipation  of  the  luxu- 
ries we  should  find  in  the  magnificent  mansion  of  "  Lady  Hayes." 

Joe  Pentland  grumbled,  Bob  White  indulged  in  some  very  strong  language,  and 
Signer  Vivalla  laughed.*  He  had  traveled  with  his  monkey  and  organ  in  Italy 
and  could  put  up  with  any  fare  that  offered.  I  took  the  disappointment  philo- 
sophically, simply  remarkiug  that  we  must  make  the  best  of  it  and  compensate 
ourselves  when  we  reached  a  town  next  day. 

The  next  forenoon  we  arrived  at  Macon,  and  congratulated  ourselves  that  we 
had  again  reached  the  regions  of  civilization. 

In  going  from  Columbus,  Georgia,  to  Montgomery,  Alabama,  we  were  obliged 
to  cross  a  thinly-settled,  desolate  tract,  known  as  the  "  Indian  Nation,"  and  a* 
several  persons  had  been  murdered  by  hostile  Indians  in  that  region,  it  was 
deemed  dangerous  to  travel  the  road  without  an  escort.  Only  the  day  before  we 
started,  the  mail  stage  had  been  stopped  and  the  passengers  murdered,  the  driver 
alone  escaping.  We  were  well  armed,  however,  and  trusted  that  our  numbers 
would  present  too  formidable  a  force  to  be  attacked,  though  we  dreaded  to  incur 
the  risk.  Vivalla  alone  was  fearless  and  was  ready  to  encounter  fifty  Indians 
and  drive  them  into  the  swamp. 

Accordingly,  when  we  had  safely  passed  over  the  entire  route  to  within  four- 
teen miles  of  Montgomery,  and  were  beyond  the  reach  of  danger,  Joe  Pentland 
determined  to  test  Vivalla's  bravery.  He  had  secretly  purchased  at  Mount  Megs, 
on  the  way,  an  old  Indian  dress  with  a  fringed  hunting  shirt  and  moccasins  and 
these  he  put  on,  after  coloring  his  face  with  Spanish  brown.  Then,  shouldering 
his  musket  he  followed  Vivalla  and  the  party  and,  approaching  stealthily,  leaped 
into  their  midst  with  a  tremendous  whoop. 

Vivalla's  companions  were  in  the  secret,  and  they  instantly  fled  in  all  direc- 
tions. Vivalla  himself  ran  like  a  deer  and  Pentland  after  him,  gun  in  hand  and 
yelling  horribly.  After  running  a  full  mile  the  poor  little  Italian,  out  of  breath 
and  frightened  nearly  to  death,  dropped  on  his  knees  and  begged  for  his  life. 
The  "Indian"  leveled  his  gun  at  his  victim,  but  soon  seemed  to  relent,  and 
signified  that  Vivalla  should  turn  his  pockets  inside  out — which  he  did,  produc- 
ing and  handing  over  a  purse  containing  eleven  dollars.  The  savage  then 
inarched  Vivalla  to  an  oak,  and  with  a  handkerchief  tied  him  in  the  most 
approved  Indian  manner  to  the  tree,  leaving  him  half  dead  with  fright.* 

Pentland  then  joined  us,  and  washing  his  face  and  changing  his  dress,  we  all 
went  to  the  relief  of  Vivalla.  He  was  overjoyed  to  see  us,  and  when  he  was 
released  his  courage  returned;  he  swore  that  after  his  companions  left  him,  the 
Indian  had  been  re-enforced  by  six  more,  to  whom,  in  default  of  a  gun  or  other 
means  to  defend  himself,  Vivalla  had  been  compelled  to  surrender.  We  pre- 
tended to  believe  his  story  for  a  week,  and  then  told  him  the  joke,  which  he 
refused  to  credit,  and  also  declined  to  take  the  money  which  Pentland  offered 
to  return,  as  it  could  not  possibly  be  his  since  seven  Indians  had  taken  his  money. 
We  had  a  great  deal  of  fun  over  Vivalla's  courage,  but  the  matter  made  him  so 
cross  and  surly  that  we  were  finally  obliged  to  drop  it  altogether.  From  that 
time  forward,  however,  Vivalla  never  boasted  of  his  prowess. 

We  arrived  at  Montgomery,  February  27th,  1837.  Here  I  met  Henry  Hawley, 
a  legerdemain  performer,  and  I  sold  him  one-half  of  my  exhibition.  He  had  a 
ready  wit,  a  happy  way  of  localizing  his  tricks,  was  very  popular  in  that  part  of 
the  country,  where  he  had  been  performing  for  several  years,  and  I  never  saw 
him  nonplussed  but  once.  This  was  when  he  was  performing  on  one  occasion  the 
well-known  egg  and  bag  trick,  which  he  did  with  his  usual  success,  producing  egg 

•  See  Illustration,  page  40. 


48  MT    FIRST  TRAVELING   COMPANY. 

after  egg  from  the  bag,  and  finally  breaking  one  to  show  that  they  were  genuine. 
"Now,"  said  Hawley,  "I  will  show  you  the  old  hen  that  laid  them."  It  hap- 
pened, however,  that  the  negro  boy  to  whom  had  been  intrusted  the  duty  of 
supplying  the  bag  had  made  a  slight  mistake,  which  was  manifest  when  Hawley 
triumphantly  produced,  not  "the  old  hen  that  laid  the  eggs,"  but  a  rooster!  The 
whole  audience  was  convulsed  with  laughter,  and  the  abashed  Hawley  retreated 
to  the  dressing-room,  cursing  the  stupidity  of  the  black  boy  who  had  been  paid 
to  put  a  hen  in  the  bag. 

After  performing  in  different  places  in  Alabama,  Kentucky,  and  Tennessee, 
\ve  disbanded  at  Nashville  in  May,  1837,  Vivalla  going  to  New  York,  where  he 
i>erfonned  on  his  own  account  for  a  while  previous  to  sailing  for  Cuba,  Hawley 
staying  in  Tennessee  to  look  after  our  horses  which  had  been  turned  out  to  grass, 
and  I  returning  home  to  spend  a  few  weeks  with  my  family. 

Early  in  July,  returning  west  with  a  new  company  of  performers,  I  rejoined 
Hawley,  and  we  began  our  campaign  in  Kentucky.  We  were  not  successful; 
one  of  our  small  company  was  incompetent;  another  was  intemperate — both 
were  dismissed;  and  our  negro-singer  was  drowned  in  the  river  at  Frank- 
fort. Funds  were  low,  and  I  was  obliged  to  leave  pledges  here  and  there,  in 
payment  for  bills,  which  I  afterwards  i-edeemed.  Hawley  and  I  dissolved  in 
August,  and  making  a  new  partnership  with  Z.  Graves,  I  left  him  in  charge  of 
the  establishment  and  went  to  Tiffin,  Ohio,  where  I  re-engaged  Joe  Pentland, 
buying  his  horses  and  wagons,  and  taking  him,  with  several  musicians,  to 
Kentucky. 

During  my  short  stay  at  Tiffin,  a  religious  conversation  at  the  hotel  introduced 
me  to  several  gentlemen  who  requested  me  to  lecture  on  the  subjects  we  had 
discussed,  and  I  did  so  to  a  crowded  audience  in  the  school-house  Sunday  after- 
noon and  evening.  At  the  solicitation  of  a  gentleman  from  Republic,  I  also 
delivered  two  lectures  in  that  town,  on  the  evenings  of  September  4th  and  5th. 

On  our  way  to  Kentucky,  just  before  we  reached  Cincinnati,  we  met  a  drove 
of  hogs,  and  one  of  the  drivers  making  an  insolent  remark  because  our  wagons 
interfered  with  his  swine,  I  replied  in  the  same  vein,  when  he  dismounted  and, 
pointing  a  pistol  at  my  breast,  swore  he  would  shoot  me  if  I  did  not  apologise.  1 
begged  him  to  permit  me  to  consult  a  friend  in  the  next  wagon,  and  the  misun 
derstanding  should  be  satisfactorily  settled.  My  friend  was  a  loaded  double 
l>arreled  gun,  which  I  pointed  at  him  and  said: 

"  Now,  sir,  you  must  apologize,  for  your  brains  are  in  danger.  You  drew  a 
weapon  upon  me  for  a  trivial  remark.  You  seem  to  hold  human  life  at  a  cheap 
price;  and  now,  sir,  you  have  the  choice  between  a  load  of  shot  and  an  apology." 

This  led  to  an  apology  and  a  friendly  conversation,  in  which  we  both  agi-eed 
that  many  a  life  is  sacrificed  in  sudden  anger,  because  one  or  both  of  the  con  • 
tending  parties  carry  deadly  weapons. 

In  our  subsequent  southern  tour  we  exhibited  at  Nashville  (where  I  visitor 
General  Jackson,  at  the  Hermitage),  Huntsville,  Tuscaloosa,  Vicksburg  and  inter- 
mediate places,  doing  tolerably  well.  At  Vicksburg  we  sold  all  our  land  convey- 
mces,  excepting  the  band  wagon  and  four  horses,  bought  the  steamboat  "Ceres," 
[or  six  thousand  dollars,  hired  the  captain  and  crew,  and  started  down  the  river 
to  exhibit  at  places  on  the  way.  At  Natchez  our  cook  left  us,  and  in  the  search  for 
another  I  found  a  white  widow  who  would  go,  only  she  expected  to  marry  a 
painter.  I  called  on  the  painter  who  had  not  made  up  his  mind  whether  to  marry 
*;he  widow  or  not,  but  I  told  him  if  he  would  many  her  the  next  morning  1 
would  hire  her  at  twenty-five  dollars  a  month  as  cook,  employ  him  at  the  same 


MY   FIEST  TRAVELING   COMPANY. 


wages  as  painter,  with  board  for  both,  and  a  cash  bonus  of  fifty  dollars.    There 
was  a  wedding  on  board  the  next  day,  and  we  had  a  good  cook  and  a  good  dinner. 

During  one  of  our  evening  performances  at  Francisville,  Louisiana,  a  man 
tried  to  pass  me  at  the  door  of  the  tent,  claiming  that  he  had  paid  for  admit- 
tance. I  refused  him  entrance;  and  as  he  was  slightly  intoxicated,  he  struck  me 
with  a  slung  shot,  mashing  my  hat  and  gracing  what  phrenologists  call  "the 
organ  of  caution."  He  went  away  and  soon  returned  with  a  gang  of  armed  and 
half-drunken  companions,  who  ordered  us  to  pack  up  our  "traps  and  plunder" 
and  to  get  on  board  our  steamboat  within  an  hour.  The  big  tent  speedily  came 
down.  No  one  was  permitted  to  help  us,  but  the  company  worked  with  a  will, 
and  within  five  minutes  of  the  expiration  of  the  hour  we  were  on  board  and 
ready  to  leave.  The  scamps  who  had  caused  our  departure  escorted  us  and  our 
last  load,  waving  pine  torches,  and  saluted  us  with  a  hurrah  as  we  swung  into 
the  stream. 

The  New  Orleans  papers  of  March  19,  1838,  announced  the  arrival  of  the 
"Steamer  Ceres,  Captain  Barnum,  with  a  theatrical  company."  After  a  week's 
performances,  we  started  for  the  Attakapas  country.  At  Opelousas  we  ex- 
changed the  steamer  for  sugar  and  molasses;  our  company  was  disbanded,  and 
I  started  for  home,  arriving  in  New  York,  June  4,  183& 
I 


CHAPTEK    VII  . 

AT  THE    FOOT   OF   THE   LADDER. 

LONGING  now  for  some  permanent,  respectable  business,  I  advertised  for  a  part 
ner,  stating  that  I  had  $2,500  to  invest,  and  would  add  my  unremitting  personal 
attention  to  the  capital  and  the  business.  This  advertisement  gave  me  an  alto- 
gether new  insight  into  human  nature.  Whoever  wishes  to  know  how  some  people 
live,  or  want  to  live,  let  him  advertise  for  a  partner,  at  the  same  time  stating  that 
he  has  a  large  or  small  capital  to  invest.  I  was  flooded  with  answers  to  my  adver- 
tisements and  received  no  less  than  ninety-three  different  propositions  for  the  use 
of  my  capital.  Of  these,  at  least  one-third  were  from  porter-house  keepers.  Bro- 
kers, pawnbrokers,  lottery-policy  dealers,  patent  medicine  men,  inventors,  and 
others  also  made  application.  Some  of  my  correspondents  declined  to  specifically 
state  the  nature  of  their  business,  but  they  promised  to  open  the  door  to  untold 
wealth. 

I  had  interviews  with  some  of  these  mysterious  million-makers.  One  of  them 
was  a  counterfeiter,  who,  after  much  hesitation  and  pledges  of  secrecy,  showed 
me  some  counterfeit  coin  and  bank  notes;  he  wanted  $2,500  to  purchase  paper  and 
ink  and  to  prepare  new  dies,  and  he  actually  proposed  that  I  should  join  him  in 
the  business  which  promised,  he  declared,  a  safe  and  rich  harvest  Another  sedate 
individual,  dressed  in  Quaker  costume,  wanted  me  to  join  him  in  an  oat  specula- 
tion. By  buying  a  horse  and  wagon,  and  by  selling  oats,  bought  at  wholesale,  in 
bags,  he  thought  a  good  business  could  be  done,  especially  as  people  would  not  be 
particular  to  measure  after  a  Quaker. 

" Do  you  mean  to  cheat  in  measuring  your  oats  ?"  I  asked. 

"  O,  I  should  probably  make  them  hold  out,"  he  answered,  with  a  leer. 

One  application  came  from  a  Pearl  street  wool  merchant,  who  failed  a  month 
afterwards.  Then  came  a  "  perpetual  motion  "  man  who  had  a  fortune-making 
machine,  in  which  I  discovered  a  main-spring  slyly  hid  in  a  hollow  post,  the 
spring  making  perpetual  motion — till  it  ran  down.  Finally,  I  went  into  partner- 
ship with  a  German,  named  Proler,  who  was  a  manufacturer  of  paste-blacking, 
water-proof  paste  for  leather,  Cologne  water  and  bear's  grease.  "We  took  the 
store  No.  101  >£  Bowery,  at  a  rent  (including  the  dwelling)  of  $600  per  ajinnrp, 
and  opened  a  large  manufactory  of  the  above  articles.  Proler  manufactured  and 
sold  the  goods  at  wholesale  in  Boston,  Charleston,  Cleveland,  and  various  other 
parts  of  the  country.  I  kept  the  accounts,  and  attended  to  sales  in  the  store, 
wholesale  and  retail.  For  a  while  the  business  seemed  to  prosper — at  least  till  my 
capital  was  absorbed  and  notes  for  stock  began  to  fall  due,  with  nothing  to  meet 
them,  since  we  had  sold  our  goods  on  long  credits.  In  January,  1840,  I  dissolved 
partnership  with  Proler,  he  buying  the  entire  interest  for  $2,600  on  credit,  and 
then  running  away  to  Rotterdam  without  paying  his  note,  and  leaving  me  noth- 
ing but  a  few  receipts.  Proler  was  a  good-looking,  plausible,  promising — scamp. 

During  my  connection  with  Proler,  I  became  acquainted  with  a  remarkable 
young  dancer  named  John  Diamond,  one  of  the  first  and  best  of  the  numerous 
negro  and  "  break -down  "  dancers  who  have  since  surprised  and  amused  the  public, 

50 


AT  THE   FOOT   OF   THE   LADDER.  51 

and  I  entered  into  an  engagement  with  his  father  for  his  services,  putting  Dia- 
mond in  the  hands  of  an  agent,  as  I  did  not  wish  to  appear  in  the  transaction.  In 
the  spring  of  1840, 1  hired  and  opened  the  Vauxhall  Garden  saloon,  in  New  York, 
and  gave  a  variety  of  performances,  including  singing,  dancing,  Yankee  stories, 
etc.  In  this  saloon  Miss  Mary  Taylor,  afterwards  so  celebrated  as  an  actress  and 
singer,  made  her  first  appearance  on  the  stage.  The  enterprise,  however,  did  not 
meet  my  expectation,  and  I  relinquished  it  in  August. 

What  was  to  be  done  next?  I  dreaded  resuming  the  Me  of  an  itinerant  show- 
man, but  funds  were  low,  I  had  a  family  to  care  for,  and  as  nothing  bettor  pre- 
sented, I  made  up  my  mind  to  endure  the  vexations  and  uncertainties  of  a  tour  in 
the  West  and  South.  1  collected  a  company,  consisting  of  Mr.  C.  D.  Jenkins,  an 
excellent  singer  and  delineator  of  Yankee  and  other  characters;  Master  John 
Diamond,  the  dancer;  Francis  Lynch,  an  orphan  vagabond,  fourteen  years  old, 
whom  I  picked  up  at  Troy,  and  a  fiddler.  My  brother-in-law,  Mr.  John  Hallett, 
preceded  us  as  agent  and  advertiser,  and  our  route  passed  through  Buffalo, 
Toronto,  Detroit,  Chicago,  Ottawa,  Springfield,  the  intermediate  places,  and  St. 
Louis,  where  I  took  the  steamboat  for  New  Orleans  with  a  company  reduced  by 
desertions  to  Master  Diamond  and  the  fiddler. 

Arriving  in  New  Orleans,  January  3d,  1841,  I  had  but  $100  in  my  purse,  and  I 
had  started  from  New  York  four  months  before  with  quite  as  much  in  my  pocket. 
Excepting  some  small  remittances  to  my  family  I  had  made  nothing  more  than 
current  expenses;  and,  when  I  had  been  in  New  Orleans  a  fortnight,  funds  were 
so  low  that  I  was  obliged  to  pledge  my  watch  as  security  for  my  board  bilL  But 
on  the  16th,  I  received  from  the  St.  Charles  Theatre  $500  as  my  half  share  of 
Diamond's  benefit;  the  next  night  I  had  $50;  and  the  third  night  $479  was  my 
share  of  the  proceeds  of  a  grand  dancing  match  at  the  theatre  between  Diamond 
and  a  negro  dancer  from  Kentucky.  Subsequent  engagements  at  Vicksburg  and 
Jackson  were  not  so  successful,  but  returning  to  New  Orleans  we  again  succeeded 
admirably,  and  afterwards  at  Mobile.  Diamond,  however,  after  extorting  con- 
siderable sums  of  money  from  me,  finally  ran  away,  and,  March  12th,  I  started 
homeward  by  way  of  the  Mississippi  and  the  Ohio. 

At  Pittsburg,  where  I  arrived  March  30th,  I  learned  that  Jenkins,  who  had 
enticed  Francis  Lynch  away  from  me  at  St.  Louis,  was  exhibiting  him  at  the 
Museum  under  the  name  of  "Master  Diamond,"  and  visiting  the  performance, 
the  next  day  I  wrote  Jenkins  an  ironical  review,  for  which  he  threatened  suit,  and 
he  actually  instigated  R.  W.  Lindsay,  from  whom  I  hired  Joice  Heth  in  Phila- 
delphia in  1835,  and  whom  I  had  not  seen  since,  though  he  was  then  residing  in 
Pittsburg,  to  sue  me  for  a  pipe  of  brandy  which,  it  was  pretended,  was  promised 
in  addition  to  the  money  paid  him.  I  was  required  to  give  bonds  of  $500,  which, 
as  I  was  among  strangers,  I  could  not  immediately  procure,  and  I  was  accord- 
ingly thrown  into  jail  till  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  when  I  was  liberated. 
The  next  day  I  caused  the  arrest  of  Jenkins  for  trespass  in  assuming  Master 
Diamond's  name  and  reputation  for  Master  Lynch,  and  he  was  sent  to  jail  till 
four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  Each  having  had  his  turn  at  this  amusement,  we 
adjourned  our  controversy  to  New  York  where  I  beat  him.  As  for  Lindsay,  I 
heard  nothing  more  of  his  claim  or  him  till  twelve  years  afterwards,  when  he 
called  on  me  in  Boston  with  an  apology.  He  was  very  poor  and  I  was  highly 
prosperous,  and  I  may  add  that  Lindsay  did  not  lack  a  friend. 

I  arrived  in  New  York,  April  23d,  1841,  after  an  absence  of  eight  months, 
resolved  once  more  that  I  would  never  again  be  an  itinerant  showman.  Three 
days  afterwards  I  contracted  with  .Robert  Sears,  the  publisher,  for  five  hundred 


52  AT  THE  FOOT  OF  THE  LADDER. 

copies  of  "Sears'  Pictorial  Illustrations  of  the  Bible,"  at  $500,  and  accepting  the 
United  States  agency,  I  opened  an  office,  May  10th,  at  the  corner  of  Beekman 
and  Nassau  streets,  the  site  of  the  present  Nassau  Bank.  I  had  had  a  limited 
experience  with  that  book  in  this  way :  When  I  was  in  Pittsburg,  an  acquaintance, 
Mr.  C.  D.  Harker,  was  complaining  that  he  had  nothing  to  do,  when  I  picked  up 
a  New  York  paper  and  saw  the  advertisement  of  "  Sears'  Pictorial  Illustrations 
of  the  Bible,  price  $3  a  copy."  Mr.  Harker  thought  he  could  get  subscribers,  and 
I  bought  him  a  specimen  copy,  agreeing  to  furnish  him  with  as  many  as  he  wanted 
at  $1.37}£  a  copy,  though  I  had  never  before  seen  the  work,  and  did  not  know  the 
wholesale  price.  The  result  was  that  he  obtained  eighty  subscribers  in  two  days, 
and  made  $50.  My  own  venture  in  the  work  was  not  so  successful;  I  advertised 
largely,  had  plenty  of  agents,  and  in  six  months,  sold  thousands  of  copies;  but 
irresponsible  agents  used  up  all  my  profits  and  my  capital 

While  engaged  in  this  business  I  once  more  leased  Vauxhall  saloon,  opening  it 
June  14th,  1841,  employing  Mr.  John  Hallett,  my  brother-in-law,  as  manager 
under  my  direction,  and  at  the  close  of  the  season,  September  25th,  we  had  cleared 
about  two  hundred  dollars.  This  sum  was  soon  exhausted,  and,  with  my  family 
on  my  hands  and  no  employment,  I  was  glad  to  do  anything  that  would  keep  the 
wolf  from  the  door.  I  wrote  advertisements  and  notices  for  the  Bowery  Amphi- 
theatre, receiving  for  the  service  four  dollars  a  week,  which  I  was  very  glad  to 
get,  and  I  also  wrote  articles  for  the  Sunday  papers,  deriving  a  fair  remuneration 
and  managing  to  get  a  li ving.  But  I  was  at  the  bottom  round  of  f  ortune's  ladder, 
and  it  was  necessary  to  make  an  effort  which  would  raise  me  above  want. 

I  was  specially  stimulated  to  this  effort  by  a  letter  which  I  received,  about  this 
time,  from  my  esteemed  friend,  Hon.  Thomas  T.  Whittlesey,  of  Danbury.  He 
held  a  mortgage  of  five  hundred  dollars  on  a  piece  of  property  I  owned  in  that 
place,  and,  as  he  was  convinced  that  I  would  never  lay  up  anything,  he  wrote  me 
that  I  might  as  well  pay  him  then  as  ever.  This  letter  made  me  resolve  to  live  no 
longer  from  hand  to  mouth,  but  to  concentrate  my  energies  upon  laying  up 
something  for  the  future. 

While  I  was  forming  this  practical  determination,  I  was  much  nearer  to  its ' 
realization  than  my  most  sanguine  hopes  could  have  predicted.    The  road  to 
fortune  was  close  by. 

As  outside  clerk  for  the  Bowery  Amphitheatre  I  had  casually  learned  that  the 
collection  of  curiosities  comprising  Scudder's  American  Museum,  at  the  corner  of 
Broadway  and  Ann  streets,  was  for  sale.  It  belonged  to  the  daughters  of  Mr. 
Scudder,  and  was  conducted  for  their  benefit  by  John  Purzman,  under  the 
authority  of  Mr.  John  Heath,  administrator.  The  price  asked  for  the  entire 
collection  was  fifteen  thousand  dollars.  It  had  cost  its  founder,  Mr.  Scudder, 
probably  fifty  thousand  dollars,  and  from  the  profits  of  the  establishment  he  had 
been  able  to  leave  a  large  competency  to  his  children.  The  Museum,  however, 
had  been  for  several  years  a  losing  concern,  and  the  heirs  were  anxious  to  sell  it. 
Looking  at  this  property,  I  thought  I  saw  that  energy,  tact  and  liberality,  were 
only  needed  to  make  it  a  paving  institution,  and  I  determined  to  purchase  it  if 
possible. 

"You  buy  the  American  Museum!"  said  a  friend,  who  knew  the  state  of  my 
funds,  "what  do  you  intend  buying  it  with? " 

"Brass,"  I  replied,  "for  silver  and  gold  have  I  none." 

The  Museum  building  belonged  to  Mr.  Francis  W.  Olmsted,  a  retired  merchant, 
to  whom  I  wrote  stating  my  desire  to  buy  the  collection,  and  that  although  I 
had  no  means,  if  it  could  be  purchased  upon  reasonable  credit,  I  was  confident 


AT  THE   FOOT   OF  THE   LADDER.  53 

• 

that  my  tact  and  experience,  added  to  a  determined  devotion  to  business,  would 
enable  me  to  make  the  payments  when  due.  I  therefore  asked  him  to  purchase 
the  collection  in  his  own  name;  to  give  me  a  writing  securing  it  to  me,  provided  I 
made  the  payments  punctually,  including  the  rent  of  his  building;  to  allow  me 
twelve  dollars  and  a  half  a  week  on  which  to  support  my  family;  and  if  at  any 
time  I  failed  to  meet  the  installment  due,  I  would  vacate  the  premises,  and  forfeit 
all  that  might  have  been  paid  to  that  date.  "In  fact,  Mr.  Olmsted,"  I  continued 
in  my  earnestness,  "  you  may  bind  me  in  any  way,  and  as  tightly  as  you  please — 
only  give  me  a  chance  to  dig  out,  or  scratch  out,  and  I  will  do  so  or  forfeit  all  the 
labor  and  trouble  I  may  have  incurred." 

In  reply  to  this  letter,  which  I  took  to  his  house  myself,  he  named  an  hour  when 
I  could  call  on  him,  and  as  I  was  there  at  the  exact  moment,  he  expressed  himself 
pleased  with  my  punctuality.  He  inquired  closely  as  to  my  habits  and  antece- 
dents, and  I  frankly  narrated  my  experiences  as  a  caterer  for  the  public,  mention- 
ing my  amusement  ventures  in  Vauxhall  Garden,  the  circus,  and  in  the  exhibitions 
I  had  managed  at  the  South  and  West. 

"Who  are  your  references?"  he  inquired. 

"Any  man  in  my  line,"  I  replied,  "from  Edmund  Simpson,  manager  of  the 
Park  Theatre,  or  William  Niblo,  to  Messrs.  Welch,  June,  Titus,  Turner,  Angevine, 
or  other  circus  or  menagerie  proprietors;  also  Moses  Y.  Beach,  of  the  New  York 
Sun. 

"  Can  you  get  any  of  them  to  call  on  me?"  he  continued. 

I  told  him  that  I  could,  and  the  next  day  my  friend  Niblo  rode  down  and  had 
an  interview  with  Mr.  Olmsted,  while  Mr.  Beach  and  several  other  gentlemen 
also  called,  and  the  following  morning  I  waited  upon  him  for  his  decision. 

"I  don't  Like  your  references,  Mr.  Bamum,"  said  Mr.  Olmsted,  abruptly,  as 
soon  as  I  entered  the  room. 

I  was  confused,  and  said  "  I  regretted  to  hear  it." 

"  They  aU  speak  too  well  of  you,"  he  added,  laughing;  " in  fact  they  all  talk  as 
if  they  were  partners  of  yours,  and  intended  to  share  the  profits." 

Nothing  could  have  pleased  me  better.  He  then  asked  me  what  security  I 
could  offer  in  case  he  concluded  to  make  the  purchase  for  me,  and  it  was  finally 
agreed  that,  if  he  should  do  so,  he  should  retain  the  property  till  it  was  entirely 
paid  for,  and  should  also  appoint  a  ticket-taker  and  accountant  (at  my  expense), 
who  should  render  him  a  weekly  statement.  I  was  further  to  take  an  apartment 
hitherto  used  as  a  billiard  room  in  his  adjoining  building,  allowing  therefor  $500 
a  year,  making  a  total  rental  of  $3,000  per  annum,  on  a  lease  of  ten  years.  He 
then  told  me  to  see  the  administrator  and  heirs  of  the  estate,  to  get  their  best 
terms,  and  to  meet  him  on  his  return  to  town  a  week  from  that  time. 

I  at  once  saw  Mr.  John  Heath,  the  administrator,,  and  his  price  was  $15,000.  1 
offered  $10,000,  payable  in  seven  annual  installments,  with  good  security.  After 
several  interviews,  it  was  finally  agreed  that  I  should  have  it  for  §12,000,  pay- 
able as  above — possession  to  be  given  on  the  15th  of  November.  Mr.  Olmsted 
assented  to  this,  and  a  morning  was  appointed  to  draw  and  sign  the  writings. 
Mr.  Heath  appeared,  but  said  he  must  decline  proceeding  any  further  in  my  case, 
as  he  had  sold  the  collection  to  the  directors  of  Peale's  Museum  (an  incorporated 
institution)  for  $15,000,  and  had  received  $1,000  in  advance. 

I  was  shocked,  and  appealed  to  Mr.  Heath's  honor.  He  said  that  he  had  signed 
no  writing  with  me;  was  in  no  way  legally  bound,  and  that  it  was  his  duty  to  do 
the  best  he  could  for  the  heirs.  Mr.  Olmsted  was  sorry,  but  could  not  help  me; 
the  new  tenants  would  not  require  him  to  incur  any  risk,  and  my  matter  was  at 
an  end. 


54  AT  THE  FOOT  OF  THE  LADDER. 

Of  course,  I  immediately  informed  myself  an  to  the  character  of  Peale  s  Mus- 
eum company.  It  proved  to  be  a  band  of  speculators  who  had  bought  Peale's 
collection  for  a  few  thousand  dollars,  expecting  to  unite  the  American  Museum 
with  it,  issue  and  sell  stock  to  the  amount  of  $50,000,  pocket  $30,000  profits,  and 
permit  the  stockholders  to  look  out  for  themselves. 

I  went  immediately  to  several  of  the  editors,  including  Major  M.  M.  Noah,  M. 
Y.  Beach,  my  good  friends  West,  Herrick  and  Ropes,  of  the  Atlas,  and  others, 
and  stated  my  grievances.  "Now,"  said  I,  "if  you  will  grant  me  the  use  of 
your  columns,  I'll  blow  that  speculation  sky-high."  They  all  consented,  and  I 
wrote  a  large  number  of  squibs,  cautioning  the  public  against  buying  the  Museum 
stock,  ridiculing  the  idea  of  a  board  of  broken-down  bank  directors  engaging  in 
the  exhibition  of  stuffed  monkeys  and  gander-skins;  appealing  to  the  case  of  the 
Zoological  Institute,  which  had  failed  by  adopting  such  a  plan  as  the  one  now 
proposed;  and  finally,  I  told  the  public  that  such  a  speculation  would  be  infinitely 
more  ridiculous  than  Dickens'  "Grand  United  Metropolitan  Hot  Muffin  and 
Crumpet-baking  and  Punctual  Delivery  Company." 

The  stock  was  as  "dead  as  a  herring! "  I  then  went  to  Mr.  Heath  and  asked 
him  when  the  directors  were  to  pay  the  other  $14,000.  "  On  the  26th  day  of 
December,  or  forfeit  the  $1,000  already  paid,"  was  the  reply.  I  assured  him  that 
they  would  never  pay  it,  that  they  could  not  raise  it,  and  that  he  would  ulti- 
mately find  himself  with  the  Museum  collection  on  his  hands,  and  if  once  I 
started  off  with  an  exhibition  for  the  South,  I  would  not  touch  the  Museum  at 
any  price.  "Now,"  said  I,  "if  you  will  agree  with  me  confidentially,  that  in 
case  these  gentlemen  do  not  pay  you  on  the  26th  of  December,  I  may  have  it  on 
the  27th  for  $12,000, 1  will  run  the  risk,  and  wait  in  this  city  until  that  date."  He 
readily  agreed  to  the  proposition,  but  said  he  was  sure  they  would  not  forfeit 
their  $1,000. 

"Very  well,"  said  I;  "all  I  ask  of  you  is,  that  this  arrangement  shall  not  be 
mentioned."  He  assented.  "On  the  27th  day  of  December,  at  ten  o'clock  A. 
M.,  I  wish  you  to  meet  me  in  Mr.  Olmsted's  apartments,  prepared  to  sign  the 
writings,  provided  this  incorporated  company  do  not  pay  you  $14  000  on  the 
26th."  He  agreed  to  this,  and  by  my  request  put  it  in  writing. 

From  that  moment  I  felt  that  the  Museum  was  mine.  I  saw  Mr.  Olmsted, 
and  told  him  so.  He  promised  secrecy,  and  agreed  to  sign  the  document  if  the 
other  parties  did  not  meet  their  engagement. 

This  was  about  November  15th,  and  I  continued  my  shower  of  newspaper 
squibs  at  the  new  company,  which  could  not  sell  a  dollar's  worth  of  its  stock. 
Meanwhile,  if  any  one  spoke  to  me  about  the  Museum,  I  simply  replied  that  J 
had  lost  it. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

THE   AMERICAN   MUSEUM. 

MY  newspaper  squib  war  against  the  Peale  combination  was  vigorously  kept 
up;  when  one  morning,  about  the  first  of  December,  I  received  a  letter  from 
the  secretary  of  that  company  (now  calling  itself  the  "New  York  Museum 
Company"),  requesting  me  to  meet  the  directors  at  the  Museum  on  the  following 
Monday  morning.  I  went,  and  found  the  directors  in  session.  The  venerable 
president  of  the  board,  who  was  also  the  ex-president  of  a  broken  bank,  blandly 
proposed  to  hire  me  to  manage  the  united  museums,  and  though  I  saw  that  he 
merely  meant  to  buy  my  silence,  I  professed  to  entertain  the  proposition,  and  in 
reply  to  an  inquiry  as  to  what  salary  I  should  expect,  I  specified  the  sum  of  $3,000 
a  year.  This  was  at  once  acceded  to,  the  salary  to  begin  January  1,  1842,  and 
after  complimenting  me  on  my  ability,  the  president  remarked:  "  Of  course,  Mr. 
Barnuni,  we  shall  have  no  more  of  your  squibs  through  the  newspapers" — to 
which  I  replied  that  I  should  "ever  try  to  serve  the  interests  of  my  employers," 
and  I  took  my  leave. 

It  was  as  clear  to  me  as  noonday,  that  after  buying  my  silence  so  as  to  appre- 
ciate their  stock,  these  directors  meant  to  sell  out  to  whom  they  could,  leaving 
me  to  look  to  future  stockholders  for  my  salary.  They  thought,  no  doubt,  that 
they  had  nicely  entrapped  me,  but  I  knew  I  had  caught  them. 

For,  supposing  me  to  be  out  of  the  way,  and  having  no  other  rival  purchaser, 
these  directors  postponed  the  advertisement  of  their  stock  to  give  people  time  to 
forget  the  attacks  I  had  made  on  it,  and  they  also  took  their  own  time  for  pay- 
ing the  money  promised  to  Mr.  Heath,  December  26th — indeed,  they  did  not  even 
call  on  him  at  the  appointed  time.  But  on  the  following  morning,  as  agreed,  I 
was  promptly  and  hopefully  at  Mr.  Olmsted's  apartments  with  my  legal  adviser, 
at  half -past  nine  o'clock;  Mr.  Heath  came  with  his  lawyer  at  ten,  and  before  two 
o'clock  that  day  I  was  in  formal  possession  of  the  American  Museum.  My  first 
managerial  act  was  to  write  and  dispatch  the  following  compKmentary  note : 

AMERICAN  MITSBUM,  NEW  YORK,  Dec.  27, 1841. 
To  the  Preskl  •>  and  Directors  of  the  New  York  Museum: 

GENTLEMEN  :  It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  inform  you  that  you  are  placed  upon  the 
Free  List  of  this  establishment  until  further  notice. 

P.  T.  BARNTJM,  Proprietor. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  say  that  the  "President  of  the  New  York  Museum "  was 
astounded,  and  when  he  Qalled  upon  Mr.  Heath,  and  learned  that  I  had  bought 
and  was  really  in  possession  of  the  American  Museum,  he  was  indignant.  He 
talked  of  prosecution,  and  demanded  the  $1,000  paid  on  his  agreement,  but  he  did 
not  prosecute,  and  he  justly  forfeited  his  deposit  money. 

And  now  that  I  was  proprietor  and  manager  of  the  American  Museum,  I  had 
reached  a  new  epoch  in  my  career,  which  I  felt  was  the  beginning  of  better  days, 
though  the  full  significance  of  this  important  step  I  did  not  see.  I  was  still  in 
the  show  business,  but  in  a  settled,  substantial  phase  of  it,  that  invited  industry 

55 


50  THE   AMEKICAN   MUSEUM. 

and  enterprise,  and  palled  for  ever  earnast  and  ever  heroic  endeavor.  Whether  1 
should  sink  or  swim,  depended  wholly  upon  my  own  energy.  I  must  pay  for  the 
establishment  within  a  stipulated  time,  or  forfeit  it  with  whatever  I  had  paid 
on  account.  I  meant  to  make  it  my  own,  and  brains,  hands  and  every  effort 
•  were  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  Museum. 

The  nucleus  of  this  establishment,  Scudder's  Museum,  was  formed  in  1810,  tt 
year  in  which  I  was  born.  It  was  begun  in  Chatham  street,  and  was  afterwards 
transferred  to  the  old  City  Hall,  and  from  small  beginnings,  by  purchases,  and  to 
a  considerable  degree  by  presents,  it  had  grown  to  be  a  large  and  valuable  collec- 
tion. People,  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  had  sent  in  relics  and  rare  curiosities: 
sea  captains,  for  years,  had  brought  and  deposited  strange  things  from  foreign 
lands;  and  besides  all  these  gifts,  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  previous  proprietor 
had  actually  expended,  as  was  stated,  $50,000,  in  making  the  collection.  No  one 
could  go  through  the  halls,  as  they  were  when  they  came  under  my  proprietor- 
ship, and  see  one-half  there  was  worth  seeing,  in  a  single  day;  and  then,  as  I 
always  justly  boasted  afterwards,  no  one  could  visit  my  Museum  and  go  away 
without  feeling  that  he  had  received  the  full  worth  of  his  money.  In  looking 
over  the  immense  collection,  the  accumulation  of  so  many  years,  I  saw  that  it 
was  only  necessary  to  properly  present  its  merits  to  the  public,  to  make  it  the 
most  attractive  and  popular  place  of  resort  and  entertainment  in  the  United 
States. 

Valuable  as  the  collection  was  when  I  bought  it,  it  was  only  the  beginning  of 
the  American  Museum  as  I  made  it.  In  my  long  proprietorship,.  I  considerably 
more  than  doubled  the  permanent  attractions  and  curiosities  of  the  establish- 
ment. In  1843, 1  bought  and  added  to  my  collection  the  entire  contents  of  Peale's 
Museum;  in  1850, 1  purchased  the  large  Peale  collection  in  Philadelphia;  and  year 
after  year,  I  bought  genuine  curiosities,  regardless  of  cost,  wherever  I  could  find 
them,  in  Europe  or  America, 

At  the  very  outset,  I  was  determined  to  deserve  success.  My  plan  of  economy 
included  the  intention  to  support  my  family  in  New  York  on  $600  a  year,  and 
my  treasure  of  a  wife,  not  only  gladly  assented,  but  was  willing  to  reduce  the 
sum  to  $400,  if  necessary.  Some  six  months  after  I  had  bought  the  Museum, 
Mr.  Olmsted  happened  in  at  my  ticket-office  at  noon,  and  found  me  eating  a 
frugal  dinner  of  cold  corned  beef  and  bread,  which  I  had  brought  from  home. 

"  Is  this  the  way  you  eat  your  dinner?"  he  asked. 

"I  have  not  eaten  a  warm  dinner,  except  on  Sundays,"  I  replied,  "since  1 
bought  the  Museum,  and  I  never  intend  to,  on  a  week  day,  till  I  am  out  of  debt." 

"Ah!"  said  he,  clapping  me  on  the  shoulder,  "you  are  safe,  and  will  pay  for 
the  Museum  before  the  year  is  out." 

And  he  was  right,  for  within  twelve  months  I  was  in  full  possession  of  the 
property  as  my  own,  and  it  was  entirely  paid  for  from  the  profits  of  the  business. 

In  1865,  the  space  occupied  for  my  Museum  purposes  was  more  than  double 
what  it  was  in  1843.  The  Lecture  Room,  originally  narrow,  ill-contrived  and 
inconvenient,  was  so  enlarged  and  improved  that  it  became  one  of  the  most  com- 
modious and  beautiful  amusement  halls  in  the  city  of  New  York.  At  first,  my 
attractions  and  inducements  were  merely  the  collection  of  curiosities  by  day, 
and  an  evening  entertainment,  consisting  of  such  variety  performances  as  were 
current  in  ordinary  shows.  Then  Saturday  afternoons,  and,  soon  afterwards, 
Wednesday  afternoons  were  devoted  to  entertainments,  and  the  popularity  of  the 
Museum  grew  so  rapidly  that  I  presently  found  it  expedient  and  profitable  tc 
open  the  great  Lecture  Room  every  afternoon,  as  well  as  every  evening,  on  every 


THE  AMERICAN  MUSEUM.  57 

week-day  In  the  year.  The  first  experiments  In  this  direction,  more  than  justi- 
fied my  expectations,  for  the  day  exhibitions  were  always  more  thronged  than 
those  of  the  evening.  Of  course  I  made  the  most  of  the  holidays,  advertising 
extensively  and  presenting  extra  inducements;  nor  did  attractions  elsewhere 
seem  to  keep  the  crowd  from  coming  to  the  Museum.  On  great  holidays,  I  gave 
as  many  as  twelve  performances  to  as  many  different  audiences. 

By  degrees  the  character  of  the  stage  performances  was  changed.  The  tran- 
sient attractions  of  the  Museum  were  constantly  diversified,  and  educated  dogs, 
industrious  fleas,  automatons,  jugglers,  ventriloquists,  living  statuary,  tableaux, 
gipsies,  Albinoes,  fat  boys,  giants,  dwarfs,  rope-dancers,  live  "Yankees,"  panto- 
mime, instrumental  music,  singing  and  dancing  in  great  variety,  dioramas, 
panoramas,  models  of  Niagara,  Dublin,  Paris,  and  Jerusalem;  Hannington's 
dioramas  of  the  Creation,  the  Deluge,  Fairy  Grotto,  Storm  at  Sea;  the  first 
English  Punch  and  Judy  in  this  country,  Italian  Fantoc«ini,  mechanical  figures, 
fancy  glass-blowing,  knitting  machines  and  other  triumphs  in  the  mechair 
ical  arts;  dissolving  views,  American  Indians,  who  enacted  their  warlike  and 
religious  ceremonies  on  the  stage, — these,  among  others,  were  all  exceedingly 
successful. 

I  thoroughly  understood  the  art  of  advertising,  not  merely  by  means  of  print- 
er's ink,  which  I  have  always  used  freely,  and  to  which  I  confess  myself  so  much 
indebted  for  my  success,  but  by  turning  every  possible  circumstance  to  my 
account.  It  was  my  monomania  to  make  the  Museum  the  town  wonder  and  town 
talk.  I  often  seized  upon  an  opportunity  by  instinct,  even  before  I  had  a  very 
definite  conception  as  to  how  it  should  be  used,  and  it  seemed,  somehow,  to  ma- 
ture itself  and  serve  my  purpose.  As  an  illustration,  one  morning  a  stout, 
hearty-looking  man  came  into  my  ticket-office  and  begged  some  mone.y.  I  asked 
him  why  he  did  not  work  and  earn  his  living  ?  He  replied  that  he  could  get 
nothing  to  do,  and  that  he  would  be  glad  of  any  job  at  a  dollar  a  day.  I  handed 
hun  a  quarter  of  a  dollar,  told  him  to  go  and  get  his  breakfast  and  return,  and  I 
would  employ  him,  at  light  labor,  at  a  dollar  and  a  half  a  day.  When  he  returned 
I  gave  him  five  common  bricks. 

"Now,"  said  I,  "go  and  lay  a  brick  on  the  sidewalk,  at  the  corner  of  Broadway 
and  Ann  street ;  another  close  by  the  Museum  ;  a  third  diagonally  across  the 
way,  at  the  corner  of  Broadway  and  Vesey  street,  by  the  Astor  House ;  put 
down  the  fourth  on  the  sidewalk,  in  front  of  St.  Paul's  Church,  opposite  ;  then, 
with  the  fifth  brick  in  hand,  take  up  a  rapid  march  from  one  point  to  the  other, 
making  the  circuit,  exchanging  your  brick  at  every  point,  and  say  nothing  to 
any  one. 

"  What  is  the  object  of  this  ?"  inquired  the  man. 

"No  matter,"  I  replied  ;  "all  you  need  to  know  is  that  it  brings  you  fifteen 
cents  wages  per  hour.  It  is  a  bit  of  my  fun,  and  to  assist  me  properly  you  must 
seem  to  be  as  deaf  as  a  post ;  wear  a  serious  countenance  ;  answer  no  questions  ; 
pay  no  attention  to  any  one  ;  but  attend  faithfully  to  the  work,  and  at  the  end  of 
every  hour,  by  St.  Paul's  clock,  show  this  ticket  at  the  Museum  door ;  enter, 
walking  solemnly  through  every  hall  in  the  building  ;  pass  out,  and  resume  your 
work." 

With  the  remark  that  it  was  "all  one  to  him,  so  long  as  he  could  earn  his 
living,"  the  man  placed  his  bricks,  and  began  his  round.  Half  an  hour  after- 
wards, at  least  five  hundred  people  were  watching  his  mysterious  movements.  He 
had  assumed  a  military  step  and  bearing,  and,  looking  as  sober  as  a  judge,  he 
made  no  response  whatever  to  the  constant  inquiries  as  to  the  object  of  his  sin- 


58  THE   AMERICAN   MUSEUM. 

gular  conduce.  At  the  end  of  the  first  hour,  the  sidewalks  in  the  vicinity  were 
packed  with  people,  all  anxious  to  solve  the  mystery.  The  man,  as  directed,  then 
went  into  the  Museum,  devoting  fifteen  minutes  to  a  solemn  survey  of  the  halls, 
and  afterwards  returning  to  his  round.  This  was  repeated  every  hour  till  sun- 
down, and  whenever  the  man  went  into  the  Museum  a  dozen  or  more  persons 
would  buy  tickets  and  follow  him,  hoping  to  gratify  their  curiosity  in  regard  to 
the  purpose  of  his  movements.  This  was  continued  for  several  days  —the  curious 
people  who  followed  the  man  into  the  Museum  considerably  more  than  paying 
his  wages — till  finally  the  policeman,  to  whom  I  had  imparted  my  object,  com- 
plained that  the  obstruction  of  the  sidewalk  by  crowds,  had  become  so  serious 
that  I  must  call  in  my  "brick  man."  This  trivial  incident  excited  considerable 
talk  and  amusement ;  it  advertised  me  ;  and  it  materially  advanced  my  purpose 
of  making  a  lively  corner  near  the  Museum. 

The  stories  illustrating  merely  my  introduction  of  novelties  would  more  than 
Oil  this  book,  but  I  must  make  room  for  a  few  of  them. 

An  actor,  named  La  Rue,  presented  himself  as  an  imitator  of  celebrated  his- 
trionic personages,  including  Macready,  Forrest,  Kemble,  the  elder  Booth,  Kean, 
Hamblin  and  others.  Taking  him  into  the  green-room  for  a  private  rehearsal,  and 
finding  his  imitations  excellent,  I  engaged  him.  For  three  nights  he  gave  great 
satisfaction,  but  early  in  the  fourth  evening  he  staggered  into  the  Museum  so 
drunk  that  he  could  hardly  stand,  and  in  half  an  hour  he  must  be  on  the  stage  ! 
Calling  an  assistant,  we  took  La  Rue  between  us,  and  marched  him  up  Broadway 
as  far  as  Chambers  street,  and  back  to  the  lower  end  of  the  Park,  hoping  to 
sober  him,  At  this  point  we  put  his  head  under  a  pump,  and  gave  him  a  good 
ducking,  with  visible  beneficial  effect — then  a  walk  around  the  Park,  and  another 
ducking, — when  he  assured  me  that  he  should  be  able  to  give  his  imitations  "  to  a 
charm." 

"You  drunken  brute,"  said  I,  "if  you  fail,  and  disappoint  my  audience,  I  will 
throw  you  out  of  the  window." 

He  declared  that  he  was  "  all  right,"  and  I  led  him  behind  the  scenes,  where  I 
waited  with  considerable  trepidation  to  watch  his  movements  on  the  stage.  He 
began  by  saying : 

"  Ladies  and  gentlemen  :  I  will  now  give  you  an  imitation  of  Mr.  Booth,  the 
eminent  tragedian." 

His  tongue  was  thick,  his  language  somewhat  incoherent,  and  I  had  great  mis- 
givings as  he  proceeded ;  but  as  no  token  of  disapprobation  came  from  the 
audience,  I  began  to  hope  he  would  go  through  with  his  parts  without  exciting 
suspicion  of  his  condition.  But  before  he  had  half  finished  his  representation  of 
Booth,  in  the  soliloquy  in  the  opening  act  of  Richard  III.,  the  house  discovered 
that  he  was  very  drunk,  and  began  to  hiss.  This  only  seemed  to  stimulate  him  to 
make  an  effort  to  appear  sober,  which,  as  is  usual  in  such  cases,  only  made  matters 
worse,  and  the  hissing  increased.  I  lost  all  patience,  and  going  on  the  stage  and 
taking  the  drunken  fellow  by  the  collar,  I  apologized  to  the  audienca,  assuring 
them  that  he  should  not  appear  before  them  again.  I  was  about  to  march  him 
off,  when  he  stepped  to  the  front,  and  said: 

"  Ladies  and  gentlemen  :  Mr.  Booth  often  appeared  on  the  stage  in  a  state  of 
inebriety,  and  I  was  simply  giving  you  a  truthful  representation  of  him  on  such 
occasions.  I  beg  to  be  permitted  to  proceed  with  my  imitations." 

The  audience  at  once  supposed  it  was  all  right,  and  cried  out,  '  go  on,  go  on  "  ; 
which  he  did,  and  at  every  imitation  of  Booth,  whether  as  Richard,  Shylock,  or 
Sir  Giles  Overreach,  he  received  a  hearty  round  of  applause.  [  was  quite 


THE   AMERICAN   MUSEUM.  59 

delighted  with  his  success  ;  but  when  he  came  to  imitate  Forrest  and  Hamblin, 
necessarily  representing  them  as  drunk  also,  the  audience  could  be  no  longer 
deluded;  the  hissing  was  almost  deafening,  and  I  was  forced  to  lead  the  actor  off. 
It  was  his  last  appearance  on  my  stage. 

I  determined  to  make  people  talk  about  my  Museum;  to  exclaim  over  its  won- 
ders; to  have  men  and  women  all  over  the  country  say:  "There  is  not  another 
place  in  the  United  States  where  so  much  can  be  seen  for  twenty-five  cents  as  in 
Barnum's  American  Museum."  It  was  the  best  advertisement  I  could  possibly 
have,  and  one  for  which  I  could  afford  to  pay.  I  knew,  too,  that  it  was  an 
honorable  advertisement,  because  it  was  as  deserved  as  it  was  spontaneous.  And 
so,  in  addition  to  the  permanent  collection  and  the  ordinary  attractions  of  the 
stage,  I  labored  to  keep  the  Museum  well  supplied  with  transient  novelties ;  I 
exhibited  such  living  curiosities  as  a  rhinoceros,  giraffes,  grizzly  bears,  ourang- 
outaugs,  great  serpents,  and  whatever  else  of  the  kind  money  would  buy  or 
enterprise  secure. 

It  was  the  world's  way  then,  as  it  is  now,  to  excite  the  community  with  naming 
pdsters,  promising  almost  everything  for  next  to  nothing.  I  confess  that  I  took 
no  pains  to  set  my  enterprising  fellow-citizens  a  better  example.  I  fell  in  with 
the  world's  way;  and  if  my  "  puffing  "  was  more  persistent,  my  advertising  more 
audacious,  my  posters  more  glaring,  my  pictures  more  exaggerated,  my  flags 
more  patriotic  and  my  transparencies  more  brilliant  than  they  would  have  been 
under  the  management  of  my  neighbors,  it  was  not  because  I  had  less  scruple 
than  they,  but  more  energy,  far  more  ingenuity,  and  a  better  foundation  for 
such  promises.  In  all  this,  if  I  cannot  be  justified,  I  at  least  find  palliation  in  the 
fact  that  I  presented  a  wilderness  of  wonderful,  instructive  and  amusing  realities 
of  such  evident  and  marked  merit  that  I  have  yet  to  learn  of  a  single  instance 
where  a  visitor  went  away  from  the  Museum  complaining  that  he  had  been  de- 
frauded of  his  money.  Surely  this  is  an  offset  to  any  eccentricities  to  which  I 
may  have  resorted  to  make  my  establishment  widely  known. 

Very  soon  after  introducing  my  extra  exhibitions,  I  purchased  for  $200,  a 
curiosity  which  had  much  merit  and  some  absurdity.  It  was  a  model  of  Niagara 
Falls,  in  which  the  merit  was  that  the  proportions  of  the  great  cataract,  the 
trees,  rocks,  and  buildings  in  the  vicinity  were  mathematically  given,  while  the 
absurdity  was  in  introducing  "real  water  "  to  represent  the  falls.  Yet  the  model 
served  a  purpose  in  making  "  a  good  line  in  the  bill " — an  end  in  view  which  was 
never  neglected — and  it  helped  to  give  the  Museum  notoriety.  One  day  I  was 
summoned  to  appeal-  before  the  Board  of  Croton  Water  Commissioners,  and  was 
informed  that  as  I  paid  only  $25  per  annum  for  water  at  the  Museum,  I  must  pay 
a  large  extra  compensation  for  the  supply  for  my  Niagara  Falls.  I  begged  the 
board  not  to  believe  all  that  appeared  in  the  papers,  nor  to  interpret  my  show- 
bills too  literally,  and  assured  them  that  a  single  barrel  of  water,  if  my  pump 
was  in  good  order,  would  furnish  my  falls  for  a  month. 

It  was  even  so,  for  the  water  flowed  into  a  reservoir  behind  the  scenes,  and  was 
forced  back  with  a  pump  over  the  falls.  On  one  occasion,  Mr.  Louis  Gaylord 
Clark,  the  editor  of  the  Knickerbocker,  came  to  view  my  Museum,  and  intro- 
duced himself  to  me.  As  I  was  quite  anxious  that  my  establishment  should 
receive  a  first-rate  notice  at  his  hands,  I  took  pains  to  show  him  everything  of 
interest,  except  the  Niagara  Falls,  which  I  feared  would  prejudice  him  against 
my  entire  show.  But  as  we  passed  the  room,  the  pump  was  at  work,  warning 
me  that  the  great  cataract  was  in  full  operation,  and  Clark,  to  my  dismay, 
insisted  upon  seeing  it. 


60  THE   AMEKICAN   MUSEUM. 

"Well,  Baruum,  I  declare,  this  is  quite  a  new  idea;  I  never  saw  the  like  before." 

"  No  ? "  I  faintly  inquired,  with  something  like  reviving  hope. 

"No,"  said  Clark,  "and  I  hope,  with  all  my  heart,  I  never  shall  again." 

But  the  Knickerbocker  spoke  kindly  of  me,  and  refrained  from  all  allusions  to 
"  the  Cataract  of  Niagara,  with  real  water."  Some  months  after,  Clark  came  in 
breathless  one  day,  and  asked  me  if  I  had  the  club  with  which  Captain  Cook  was 
killed  i  As  I  had  a  lot  of  Indian  war  clubs  in  the  collection  of  aboriginal  curiosi 
ties,  and  owing  Clark  something  on  the  old  Niagara  Falls  account,  I  told  him  I 
had  the  veritable  club,  with  documents  which  placed  its  identity  beyond  question, 
and  I  showed  him  the  warlike  weapon. 

"Poor  Cook  !  Poor  Cook  !"  said  Clark,  musingly.  "Well,  Mr.  Barnum,"  he 
continued,  with  great  gravity,  at  the  same  time  extending  his  hand  and  giving 
mine  a  hearty  shake,  "  I  am  really  very  much  obliged  to  you  for  your  kindness. 
I  had  an  irrepressible  desire  to  see  the  club  that  killed  Captain  Cook,  and  I  felt 
quite  confident  you  could  accommodate  me.  I  have  been  in  half  a  dozen  smaller 
museums,  and  as  they  all  had  it,  I  was  sure  a  large  establishment  like  yours 
would  not  be  without  it." 

A  few  weeks  afterwards,  I  wrote  to  Clark  that  if  he  would  come  to  my  office  I 
was  anxious  to  consult  him  on  a  matter  of  great  importance.  He  came,  and  1 
said: 

"  Now,  I  don't  want  any  of  your  nonsense,  but  I  want  your  sober  advice." 

He  assured  me  that  he  would  serve  me  in  any  way  in  his  power,  and  I  pro- 
ceeded to  tell  him  about  a  wonderful  fish  from  the  Nile,  offered  to  me  for  exhibi 
tion  at  $100  a  week,  the  owner  of  which  was  willing  to  forfeit  $5,000,  if,  within 
six  weeks,  this  fish  did  not  pass  through  a  transformation  in  which  the  tail  would 
disappear  and  the  fish  would  then  have  legs. 

"  Is  it  possible  ! "  asked  the  astonished  Clark. 

1  assured  him  that  there  was  no  doubt  of  it. 

Thereupon  he  advised  me  to  engage  the  wonder  at  any  price ;  that  it  would 
startle  the  naturalists,  wake  up  the  whole  scientific  world,  draw  in  the  masses, 
and  make  $20,000  for  the  Museum.  I  told  him  that  I  thought  well  of  the  specu- 
lation, only  I  did  not  like  the  name  of  the  fish. 

"That  makes  no  difference  whatever,"  said  Clark;  "what  is  the  name  of  the 
fish?" 

"Tadpole,"  I  replied,  with  becoming  gravity,  "but  it  is  vulgarly  called 
'pollywog.' " 

"  Sold,  by  thunder  1 "  exclaimed  Clark,  and  he  left. 

A  curiosity,  which  in  an  extraordinary  degree  served  my  ever-present  object 
of  extending  the  notoriety  of  the  Museum,  was  the  so-called  "Feejee  Mermaid." 
It  has  been  supposed  that  this  mermaid  was  manufactured  by  my  order,  but  such 
is  not  the  fact.  I  was  known  as  a  successful  showman,  and  strange  things  of 
every  sort  were  brought  to  me  from  all  quarters,  for  sale  or  exhibition.  In  the 
summer  of  1842,  Mr.  Moses  Kimball,  of  the  Boston  Museum,  came  to  New  York 
and  showed  me  what  purported  to  be  a  mermaid.  He  bad  bought  it  from  a 
sailor,  whose  father,  a  sea  captain,  had  purchased  it  in  Calcutta,  in  1822,  from 
some  Japanese  sailors.  I  may  mention  here  that  this  identical  preserved  speci- 
men was  exhibited  in  London  in  1822,  as  I  fully  verified  in  my  visit  to  that  city 
in  1  sr>\  for  I  found  an  advertisement  of  it  in  an  old  file  of  the  London  Times, 
and  a.  friend  gave  me  a  copy  of  the  Mirror,  published  by  J.  Limbird,  335  Strand, 
November  9,  1822,  containing  a  cut  of  tin's  same  creature  and  two  pages  of  letter- 
press describing  it,  together  with  an  account  of  other  mermaids  said  to  have  been 


THE  AMEBKJAN   MUSEUM.  61 

captured  in  different  parts  of  the  world.  The  Mirror  stated  that  this  specimen 
was  "the  great  source  of  attraction  in  the  British  metropolis,  and  three  to  four 
hundred  people  every  day  paid  their  shilling  to  see  it." 

This  was  the  curiosity  which  had  fallen  into  Mr.  Kimball's  hands.  I  requested 
my  naturalist's  opinion  of  the  genuineness  of  the  animal,  and  he  said  he  could 
not  conceive  how  it  could  have  been  manufactured,  for  he  never  saw  a  monkey 
with  such  peculiar  teeth,  arms,  hands,  etc.,  and  he  never  saw  a  fish  with  such 
peculiar  fins;  but  he  did  not  believe  in  mermaids.  Nevertheless,  I  concluded  to 
hire  this  curiosity  and  to  modify  the  general  incredulity  as  to  the  possibility  of 
the  existence  of  mermaids,  and  to  awaken  curiosity  to  see  and  examine  the 
specimen,  I  invoked  the  potent  power  of  printer's  ink. 

Since  Japan  has  been  opened  to  the  outer  world,  it  has  been  discovered  that 
certain  "artists"  in  that  country  manufacture  a  great  variety  of  fabulous 
animals,  with  an  ingenuity  and  mechanical  perfection  well  calculated  to  deceive. 
No  doubt  my  mermaid  was  a  specimen  of  this  curious  manufacture.  I  used  it 
mainly  to  advertise  the  regular  business  of  the  Museum,  and  this  effective 
indirect  advertising  is  the  only  feature  I  can  commend,  in  a  special  show  of  which, 
I  confess,  I  am  not  proud.  Newspapers  throughout  the  country  copied  the 
mermaid  notices,  for  they  were  novel  and  caught  the  attention  of  readers.  Thus 
was  the  fame  of  the  Museum,  as  well  as  the  mermaid,  wafted  from  one  end  of 
the  land  to  the  other.  I  was  careful  to  keep  up  the  excitement,  for  I  knew  that 
every  dollar  sown  in  advertising  would  return  in  tens,  and  perhaps  hundreds,  in 
a  future  harvest,  and  after  obtaining  all  the  notoriety  possible  by  advertising 
and  by  exhibiting  the  mermaid  at  the  Museum,  I  sent  the  curiosity  throughout 
the  country,  directing  my  agent  to  everywhere  advertise  it  as  "  From  Barnmn's 
Great  American  Museum,  New  York."  The  effect  was  immediately  felt;  money 
flowed  in  rapidly,  and  was  readily  expended  in  more  advertising. 

When  I  became  proprietor  of  the  establishment,  there  were  only  the  words: 
"American  Museum,"  to  indicate  the  character  of  the  concern;  there  was  no 
bustle  or  activity  about  the  place;  no  posters  to  announce  what  was  to  be  seen; — 
the  whole  exterior  was  as  dead  as  the  skeletons  and  stuffed  skins  within.  My 
experiences  had  taught  me  the  advantages  of  advertising.  I  printed  whole  columns 
in  the  papers,  setting  forth  the  wonders  of  my  establishment.  Old  "fogies" 
opened  their  eyes  in  amazement  at  a  man  who  could  expend  hundreds  of  dollars 
in  announcing  a  show  of  "  stuffed  monkey  skins  ; "  but  these  same  old  fogies  paid 
their  quarters,  nevertheless,  and  when  they  saw  the  curiosities  and  novelties  in 
the  Museum  halls,  they,  like  all  other  visitors,  were  astonished  as  well  as  pleased, 
and  went  home  and  told  their  friends  and  neighbors,  and  thus  assisted  in  adver- 
tising my  business. 

Other  and  not  less  effective  advertising, — flags  and  banners, — began  to  adorn 
the  exterior  of  the  building.  I  kept  a  band  of  music  on  the  front  balcony  and 
announced  "  Free  Music  for  the  Million."  People  said,  "Well,  that  Barnum  is  a 
liberal  fellow  to  give  us  music  for  nothing,"  and  they  flocked  down  to  hear  my 
outdoor  free  concerts.  But  I  took  pains  to  select  and  maintain  the  poorest  band 
I  could  find — one  whose  discordant  notes  would  drive  the  crowd  into  the  Museum, 
out  of  earshot  of  my  outside  orchestra.  *  Of  course,  the  music  was  poor.  When 
people  expect  to  get  "something  for  nothing "  they  are  sure  to  be  cheated.  Pow- 
erful Drummond  lights  were  placed  at  the  top  of  the  Museum,  which,  in  the 
darkest  night,  threw  a  flood  of  light  up  and  down  Broadway,  from  the  Battery 
to  Niblo's,  that  won!.!  enable  one  to  read  a  newspaper  in  the  street.  These  were 
the  first  Drummond  lights  ever  seen  in  New  York,  and  they  made  people  talk, 
and  so  advertised  my  Museum. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

THE   BQAD   TO   RICHES. 

THE  American  Museum  was  the  ladder  by  which  I  rose  to  fortune.  Whenever 
1  cross  Broadway  at  the  head  of  Vesey  street,  and  see  the  Herald  building  and 
that  gorgeous  pile,  the  Park  Bank,  my  mind's  eye  recalls  that  less  solid,  more  showy 
edifice  which  once  occupied  the  site,  and  was  covered  with  pictures  of  all  manner 
of  beasts,  birds  and  creeping  things,  and  in  which  were  treasures  that  brought 
treasures  and  notoriety  and  pleasant  hours  to  me.  The  Jenny  Lind  enterprise 
was  more  audacious,  more  immediately  remunerative,  and  I  remember  it  with  a 
pride  which  I  do  not  attempt  to  conceal;  but  instinctively  I  often  go  back  and 
h've  over  again  the  old  days  of  my  struggles  and  triumphs  in  the  American 
Museum. 

The  Museum  was  always  open  at  sunrise,  and  this  was  so  well  known  throughout 
the  country  that  strangers  coming  to  the  city  would  often  take  a  tour  through 
my  halls  before  going  to  breakfast  or  to  their  hotels.  I  do  not  believe  there  was 
ever  a  more  truly  popular  place  of  amusement.  I  frequently  compared  the  annual 
number  of  visitors  with  the  number  officially  reported  as  visiting  (free  of  charge) 
the  British  Museum  in  London,  and  my  list  was  invariably  the  larger.  Nor  do  I 
believe  that  any  man  or  manager  ever  labored  more  industriously  to  please  his 
patrons.  I  furnished  the  most  attractive  exhibitions  which  money  could  procure ; 
I  abolished  all  vulgarity  and  profanity  from  the  stage,  and  I  prided  myself  upon 
the  fact,  that  parents  and  children  could  attend  the  dramatic  performances  in  the 
so-called  Lecture  Room,  and  not  be  shocked  or  offended  by  anything  they  might 
see  or  hear;  I  introduced  the  "Moral  Drama,"  producing  such  plays  as  "The 
Drunkard,"  "  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,"  "  Moses  in  Egypt,"  "  Joseph  and  his  Brethren," 
and  occasional  spectacular  melodramas  produced  with  great  care  at  considerable 
outlay. 

Mr.  Sothern,  who  has  since  attained  such  wide-spread  celebrity  at  home  and 
abroad  as  a  character  actor,  was  a  member  of  my  dramatic  company  for  one  or 
two  seasons.  Mr.  Barney  Williams  also  began  his  theatrical  career  at  the  Museum, 
occupying,  at  first,  quite  a  subordinate  position,  at  a  salary  of  ten  dollars  a  week. 
During  his  last  twelve  or  fifteen  years,  I  presume  his  weekly  receipts,  when  lie 
acted,  must  have  been  nearly  $3,000.  The  late  Miss  Mary  Gannon  also  commenced 
at  the  Museum,  and  many  more  actors  and  actresses  of  celebrity  have  been,  from 
time  to  time,  engaged  there.  What  was  once  the  small  Lecture  Room  was  con- 
verted into  a  spacious  and  beautiful  theater,  extending  over  the  lots  adjoining  the 
Museum,  and  capable  of  holding  about  three  thousand  persons.  The  saloons  were 
greatly  multiplied  and  enlarged,  and  the  "egress"  having  been  made  to  work  to 
perfection,  on  holidays  I  advertised  Lecture  Room  performances  every  hour 
through  the  afternoon  and  evening,  and  consequently  the  actors  and  actresses 
were  dressed  for  the  stage  as  early  as  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  did  not 
resume  their  ordinary  clothes  till  ten  o'clock  at  night.  In  these  busy  days  the 
meals  for  the  company  were  brought  in  and  served  in  the  dressing-rooms  and 
green-rooms,  and  the  company  always  received  extra  pay. 

62 


THE  ROAD  TO   RICHES.  63 

I  confess  that  I  liked  the  Museum  mainly  for  the  opportunities  it  afforded  for 
rapidly  making  money.  Before  I  bought  it,  I  weighed  the  matter  well  in  my 
mind,  and  was  convinced  that  I  could  present  to  the  American  public  such  a 
variety,  quantity  and  quality  of  amusement,  blended  with  instruction,  "all  for 
twenty-five  cents,  children  half  price,"  that  my  attractions  would  be  irresistible, 
and  my  fortune  certain.  I  myself  relished  a  higher  grade  of  amusement,  and  I 
was  a  frequent  attendant  at  the  opera,  first-class  concerts,  lectures,  and  the  like; 
but  I  worked  for  the  milling  and  I  knew  the  only  way  to  make  a  million  from 
my  patrons  was  to  give  them  abundant  and  wholesome  attractions  for  a  small 
sum  of  money. 

About  the  first  of  July,  1842, 1  began  to  make  arrangements  for  extra  novelties, 
additional  performances,  a  large  amount  of  extra  advertising,  and  an  out-door 
display  for  the  "  Glorious  Fourth."  Large  parti-colored  bills  were  ordered,  trans- 
parencies were  prepared,  the  free  band  of  music  was  augmented  by  a  trumpeter, 
and  columns  of  advertisements,  headed  with  large  capitals,  were  written  and  put 
on  file. 

I  wanted  to  run  out  a  string  of  American  flags  across  the  street  on  that  day, 
for  I  knew  there  would  be  thousands  of  people  passing  the  Museum  with  leisure 
and  pocket-money,  and  I  felt  confident  that  an  unusual  display  of  national  flags 
would  arrest  their  patriotic  attention,  and  bring  many  of  them  within  my  walls. 
Unfortunately  for  my  purpose,  St.  Paul's  Church  stood  directly  opposite,  and 
there  was  nothing  to  which  I  could  attach  my  flag-rope,  unless  it  might  be  one  of 
the  trees  in  the  church-yard.  I  went  to  the  vestrymen  for  permission  to  so 
attach  my  flag -rope  on  the  Fourth  of  July,  and  they  were  indignant  at  what  they 
called  my  "insulting  proposition;"  such  a  concession  would  be  "sacrilege."  I 
plied  them  with  arguments,  and  appealed  to  their  patriotism,  but  in  vain. 

Returning  to  the  Museum,  I  gave  orders  to  have  the  string  of  flags  made  ready, 
with  directions  at  daylight  on  the  Fourth  of  July  to  attach  one  end  of  the  rope 
to  one  of  the  third-story  windows  of  the  Museum,  and  the  other  end  to  a  tree  in 
St.  Paul's  churchyard.  The  great  day  arrived,  and  my  orders  were  strictly 
followed.  The  flags  attracted  great  attention.  By  half-past  nine  Broadway  was 
thronged,  and  about  that  time  two  gentlemen,  in  a  high  state  of  excitement,  rushed 
into  my  office,  announcing  themselves  as  injured  and  insulted  vestrymen  of  St. 
Paul's  Church. 

" Keep  cool,  gentlemen,"  said  I;  "I  guess  it  is  all  right." 

"Right!"  indignantly  exclaimed  one  of  them,  "do  you  think  it  is  right  to 
attach  your  Museum  to  our  Church?  We  will  show  you  what  is  '  right '  and  what 
is  law,  if  we  live  till  to-morrow;  those  flags  must  come  down  instantly." 

"Thank  you,"  I  said,  "but  let  us  not  be  in  a  hurry.  I  will  go  out  with  you 
and  look  at  them,  and  I  guess  we  can  make  it  all  right. " 

Going  into  the  street,  I  remarked:  "Really,  gentlemen,  these  flags  look  very 
beautiful;  they  do  not  injure  your  tree;  I  always  stop  my  balcony  music  for  your 
accommodation  whenever  you  hold  week-day  services,  and  it  is  but  fair  that  you 
should  return  the  favor." 

"We  could  indict  your  'music,'  as  you  call  it,  as  a  nuisance,  if  we  chose," 
answered  one  vestryman,  "and  now  I  tell  you  that  if  these  flags  are  not  taken 
down  in  ten  minutes,  /  will  cut  them  down. " 

His  indignation  was  at  boiling  point.  The  crowd  in  the  street  was  dense,  and 
the  angry  gesticulation  of  the  vestryman  attracted  their  attention.  I  saw  there 
was  no  use  in  trying  to  parley  with  him  or  coax  him,  and  so,  assuming  an  angry 
air.  I  rolled  up  my  sleeve^  arid  exclaimed,  in  a  loud  tone, 


64  THE  BO  AD  TO   RICHES. 

"  Well,  Mister,  I  should  just  like  to  see  you  dare  to  cut  down  the  American  flag 
on  the  Fourth  of  July;  you  must  be  a  '  Britisher '  to  make  such  a  threat  as  that: 
but  I'll  show  you  a  thousand  pairs  of  Yankee  hands  in  two  minutes,  if  you  dare 
to  attempt  to  take  down  the  stars  and  stripes  on  this  great  birth-day  of  American 
freedom!"* 

"  What's  that  John  Bull  a-saying? "  asked  a  brawny  fellow,  placing  himself  in 
front  of  the  irate  vestryman.  "Look  here,  old  fellow,"  he  continued,  "if  you 
want  to  save  a  whole  bone  in  your  body,  you  had  better  slope,  and  never  dare  to 
talk  again  about  hauling  down  the  American  flag  hi  the  city  of  New  York." 

Throngs  of  excited,  exasperated  men  crowded  around,  and  the  vestryman, 
seeing  the  effect  of  my  ruse,  smiled  faintly  and  said,  "  Oh,  of  course  it  is  all  right," 
and  he  and  his  companion  quietly  edged  out  of  the  crowd. 

On  that  Fourth  of  July,  at  one  o'clock  p.  M.,  my  Museum  was  so  densely 
crowded  that  we  could  admit  no  more  visitors,  and  we  were  compelled  to  stop  the 
sale  of  tickets.  Looking  down  into  the  street  it  was  a  sad  sight  to  see  the  thousands 
of  people  who  stood  ready  with  their  money  to  enter  the  Museum,  but  who  were 
actually  turned  away.  It  was  exceedingly  harrowing  to  my  feelings.  Rushing 
down  stairs,  I  told  my  carpenter  and  his  assistants  to  cut  through  the  partition 
and  floor  in  the  rear  and  to  put  in  a  temporary  flight  of  stairs  so  as  to  let  out 
people  by  that  egress  into  Ann  street.  By  three  o'clock  the  egress  was  opened, 
and  a  few  people  were  passed  down  the  new  stairs,  while  a  corresponding  number 
came  in  at  the  front.  But  I  lost  a  large  amount  of  money  that  day  by  not  having 
sufficiently  estimated  the  value  of  my  own  advertising,  and  consequently  not 
having  provided  for  the  thousands  who  had  read  my  announcements  and  seen  my 
outside  show,  and  had  taken  the  first  leisure  day  to  visit  the  Museum.  I  had 
learned  one  lesson,  however,  and  that  was  to  have  the  egress  ready  on  future 
holidays. 

Early  in  the  following  March  I  received  notice  from  some  of  the  Irish  popula- 
tion that  they  meant  to  visit  me  in  great  numbers  on  "  St.  Patrick's  day  in  the 
morning."  "All  right,"  said  I  to  my  carpenter,  "get  your  egress  ready  for 
March  17 ;"  and  I  added,  to  my  assistant  manager :  "If  there  is  much  of  a 
crt>wd,  dont  let  a  single  person  pass  out  at  the  front,  even  if  it  were  St.  Patrick 
himself  ;  put  every  man  out  through  the  egress  in  the  rear."  The  day  came,  and 
before  noon  we  were  caught  in  the  same  dilemma  as  we  were  on  the  Fourth  of 
July  ;  the  Museum  was  jammed,  and  the  sale  of  tickets  was  stopped.  I  went  to 
the  egress  and  asked  the  sentinel  how  many  hundreds  had  passed  out  ? 

"Hundreds,"  he  replied,  "why  only  three  persons  have  gone  out  by  this 
way  and  they  came  back,  saying  that  it  was  a  mistake  and  begging  to  be  let  in 
again." 

"What  does  this  mean  ?"  I  inquired  ;  "surely  thousands  of  people  have  been 
all  over  the  Museum  since  they  came  in." 

"  Certainly,"  was  the  reply,  "  but  after  they  have  gone  from  one  saloon  to  an- 
other, and  have  been  on  every  floor,  even  to  the  roof,  they  come  down  and  travel 
the  same  route  over  again," 

At  this  time  I  espied  a  tall  Irish  woman  with  two  good-sized  children  whom  1 
had  happened  to  notice  when  they  came  early  in  the  morning." 

"Step  this  way,  madam,"  said  I,  politely,  "you  will  never  be  able  to  get  into 
the  street  by  the  front  door  without  crushing  these  dear  children.  We  have 
opened  a  large  egress  here,  and  you  can  pass  by  these  rear  stairs  into  Ann 
street  and  thus  avoid  all  danger. " 


*  See  Illustration,  page  48. 


THE  ROAD  TO   RICHES.  65 

"  Sure,"  replied  the  woman,  indignantly,  "  an'  I'm  not  going  out  at  all,  at  all, 
nor  the  children  aither,  for  we've  brought  our  dinners  and  we  are  going  to  stay 
all  day." 

Further  investigation  showed  that  pretty  much  all  of  my  visitors  had  brought 
their  dinners  with  the  evident  intention  of  literally  "making  a  day  of  it."  No 
one  expected  to  go  home  till  night ;  the  building  was  overcrowded,  and  mean- 
while hundreds  were  waiting  at  the  front  entrance  to  get  in  when  they  could. 
In  despair  I  sauntered  upon  the  stage  behind  the  scenes,  biting  my  lips  with  vex- 
ation, wheii  I  happened  to  see  the  scene-painter  at  work  and  a  happy  thought 
struck  me  :  "  Here,"  1  exclaimed,  "  take  a  piece  of  canvas  four  feet  square,  and 
paint  on  it,  as  soon  as  you  can,  in  large  letters, 

tSfTO    THE    EGRESS." 

Seizing  his  brush,  he  finished  the  sign  in  fifteen  minutes,  and  I  directed  the  car 
penter  to  nail  it  over  the  door  leading  to  the  back  stairs.  He  did  so,  and  as  the 
crowd,  after  making  the  entire  tour  of  the  establishment,  came  pouring  down 
the  main  stairs  from  the  third  story,  they  stopped  and  looked  at  the  new  sign, 
while  some  of  them  read  audibly  :  "To  the  Aigress." 

"The  Aigress,"  said  others,  "sure  that's  an  animal  we  haven't  seen,"  and  the 
throng  began  to  pour  down  the  back  stairs  only  to  find  that  the  "Aigress"  was 
the  elephant,  and  that  the  elephant  was  all  out  o'doors,  or  so  much  of  it  as  began 
with  Ann  street.  Meanwhile,  I  began  to  accommodate  those  who  had  long  been 
waiting  with  their  money  at  the  Broadway  entrance. 

Money  poured  in  upon  me  so  rapidly  that  I  was  sometimes  actually  embar- 
rassed to  devise  means  to  carry  out  my  original  plan  for  laying  out  the  entire 
profits  of  the  first  year  in  advertising.  I  meant  to  sow  first  and  reap  afterwards. 
I  finally  hit  upon  a  plan  which  cost  a  large  sum,  and  that  was  to  prepare  large 
oval  oil  paintings  to  be  placed  between  the  windows  of  the  entire  building,  repre- 
senting nearly  every  important  animal  known  in  zoology.  These  paintings  were 
put  on  the  building  in  a  single  night,  and  so  complete  a  transformation  in  the  ap- 
pearance of  an  edifice  is  seldom  witnessed.  When  the  living  stream  rolled  down 
Broadway  the  next  morning  and  reached  the  Astor  House  corner,  opposite  the 
Museum,  it  seemed  to  meet  with  a  sudden  check.  I  never  before  saw  so  many 
open  mouths  and  astonished  eyes.  Some  people  were  puzzled  to  know  what  it  all 
meant ;  some  looked  as  if  they  thought  it  was  an  enchanted  palace  that  had  sud- 
denly sprung  up  ;  others  exclaimed,  "Well,  the  animals  all  seem  to  have  'broken 
out '  last  night,"  and  hundreds  came  in  to  see  how  the  establishment  survived  the 
sudden  eruption. 

From  that  morning  the  Museum  receipts  took  a  jump  forward  of  nearly  a  hun- 
dred dollars  a  day,  and  they  never  fell  back  again. 

The  Museum  had  become  an  established  institution  in  the  laud.  Now  and  then 
some  one  would  cry  out  "humbug "  and  " charlatan,"  but  so  much  the  better  for 
me ;  it  helped  to  advertise  me,  and  I  was  willing  to  bear  the  reputation. 

On  several  occasions  I  got  up  "  Baby  shows,"  at  which  I  paid  liberal  prizes  for 
the  finest  baby,  the  fattest  baby,  the  handsomest  twins,  for  triplets,  and  so  on. 
These  shows  were  as  popular  as  they  were  unique,  and  while  they  paid,  in  a  finan- 
cial point  of  view,  my  chief  object  in  getting  them  up  was  to  set  the  newspapers 
to  talking  about  me,  thus  giving  another  blast  on  the  trumpet  which  I  always 
tried  to  keep  blowing  for  the  Museum.  Flower  shows,  dog  shows,  poultry  shows 
and  bird  shows,  were  held  at  intervals  in  my  establishment  and  in  each  instance 
the  same  end  was  attained  as  by  the  baby  shows.  I  gave  prizes  in  the  shape  of 


66  THE   ROAD   TO    RICHES. 

medals,  money  and  diplomas,  and  the  whole  came  back  to  me  four-fold  in  the 
shape  of  advertising. 

There  was  great  difficulty,  however,  in  awarding  the  principal  prize  of  $100  at 
the  baby  shows.  Every  mother  thought  her  own  baby  the  brightest  and  best,  and 
confidently  expected  the  capital  prize. 

For  where  was  ever  seen  the  mother 
Would  give  her  baby  for  another  ? 

Not  foreseeing  this  when  I  first  stepped  into  the  expectant  circle  and  announsed 
in  a  matter  of  fact  way  that  a  committee  of  ladies  had  decided  upon  the  baby  of 
Mrs.  So  and  So  as  entitled  to  the  leading  prize,  I  was  ill-prepared  for  the  storm 
of  indignation  that  arose  on  every  side.  Ninety-nine  disappointed  and,  as  they 
thought,  deeply  injured  mothers  made  common  cause  and  pronounced  the  suc- 
cessful little  one  the  meanest,  homeliest  baby  in  the  lot,  and  roundly  abused  me 
and  my  committee  for  our  stupidity  and  partiality.  "  Very  well,  ladies,"  said  I 
in  the  first  instance,  "select  a  committee  of  your  own  and  I  will  give  another 
$100  prize  to  the  baby  you  shall  pronounce  to  be  the  best  specimen."  This  was 
only  throwing  oil  upon  flame  ;  the  ninety-nine  confederates  were  deadly  enemies 
from  the  moment,  and  no  new  babies  were  presented  in  competition  for  the  sec- 
ond prize.  Thereafter,  I  took  good  care  to  send  in  a  written  report  and  did  not 
attempt  to  announce  the  prize  in  person.* 

In  June,  1843,  a  herd  of  yearling  buffaloes  was  on  exhibition  in  Boston.  1 
bought  the  lot,  brought  them  to  New  Jersey,  hired  the  race-course  at  Hoboken, 
chartered  the  ferry-boats  for  one  day,  and  advertised  that  a  hunter  had  arrived 
with  a  herd  of  buffaloes — I  was  careful  not  to  state  their  age — and  that  August 
31st  there  would  be  a  "Grand  Buffalo  Hunt"  on  the  Hoboken  race-course — all 
persons  to  be  admitted  free  of  charge. 

The  appointed  day  was  warm  and  delightful,  and  no  less  than  twenty-four 
thousand  people  crossed  the  North  River  in  the  ferry-boats  to  enjoy  the  cooling 
breeze  and  to  see  the  "  Grand  Buffalo  Hunt."  The  hunter  was  dressed  as  an  In- 
dian, and  mounted  on  horseback  ;  he  proceeded  to  show  how  the  wild  buffalo  is 
captured  with  a  lasso,  but  unfortunately  the  yearlings  would  not  run  till  the 
crowd  gave  a  great  shout,  expressive  at  once  of  derision  and  delight  at  the  harm- 
less humbug.  This  shout  started  the  young  animals  into  a  weak  gallop  and  the 
lasso  was  duly  thrown  over  the  head  of  the  largest  calf.  The  crowd  roared  with 
laughter,  listened  to  my  balcony  band,  which  I  also  furnished  "free,"  and  then 
started  for  New  York,  little  dreaming  who  was  the  author  of  this  sensation,  or 
what  was  its  object. 

Mr.  N.  P.  Willis,  then  editor  of  the  Home  Journal,  wrote  an  article  illustrating 
the  perfect  good  nature  with  which  the  American  public  submit  to  a  clever  hum 
bug.  He  said  that  he  went  to  Hoboken  to  witness  the  buffalo  hunt.  It  was 
nearly  four  o'clock  when  the  boat  left  the  foot  of  Barclay  street,  and  it  was  so 
densely  crowded  that  many  persons  were  obliged  to  stand  on  the  railings  and 
hold  on  to  the  awning-posts.  When  they  reached  the  Hoboken  side  a  boat 
equally  crowded  was  coming  out  of  the  slip.  The  passengers  just  arriving  cried 
out  to  those  who  were  coming  away,  "Is  the  buffalo  hunt  over?"  To  which 
came  the  reply,  "  Yes,  and  it  was  the  biggest  humbug  you  ever  heard  of  ! "  "Wil- 
lis added  that  passengers  on  the  boat  with  him  instantly  gave  three  cheers  for  the 
author  of  the  humbug,  whoever  he  might  be. 

*  See  Illustration,  page  56 


THE   ROAD   TO    RICHES.  67 

After  the  public  had  enjoyed  a  laugh  for  several  days  over  the  Hoboken  "Free 
Grand  Buffalo  Hunt,"  I  permitted  it  to  be  announced  that  the  proprietor  of  the 
American  Museum  was  responsible  for  the  joke,  thus  using  the  buffalo  hunt  as  a 
sky-rocket  to  attract  public  attention  to  my  Museum.  The  object  was  accom- 
plished, and  although  some  people  cried  out  "humbug,"  I  had  added  to  the  noto- 
riety which  I  so  much  wanted,  and  I  was  satisfied.  As  for  the  cry  of  "humbug," 
it  never  harmed  me,  and  I  was  in  the  position  of  the  actor  who  had  much  rather 
be  roundly  abused  than  not  to  be  noticed  at  all.  I  ought  to  add,  that  the  forty 
eight  thousand  sixpences — the  usual  fare — received  for  ferry  fares,  less  what  1 
paid  for  the  charter  of  the  boats  on  that  one  day,  more  than  remunerated  me  for 
the  cost  of  the  buffaloes  and  the  expenses  of  the  "hunt;"  and  the  enormous 
gratuitous  advertising  of  the  Museum  must  also  be  placed  to  my  credit. 

With  the  same  object — that  is,  advertising  my  Museum,  I  purchased  f«r  $500, 
in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  a  "Woolly  Horse"  I  found  on  exhibition  in  that  city.  It 
was  a  well-formed,  small-sized  horse,  with  no  mane,  and  not  a  particle  of  hair  on 
his  tail,  while  his  entire  body  and  legs  were  covered  with  thick,  fine  hair  or  wool, 
which  curled  tight  to  his  skin.  This  horse  was  foaled  in  Indiana,  and  was  a  re- 
markable freak  of  nature,  and  certainly  a  very  curious-looking  animal. 

I  had  not  the  remotest  idea,  when  I  bought  this  horse,  what  I  should  do  with 
him  ;  but  when  the  news  came  that  Colonel  John  C.  Fremont  (who  was  supposed 
to  have  been  lost  in  the  snows  of  the  Rocky  Mountains)  was  in  safety,  the 
"Woolly  Horse"  was  exhibited  in  New  York  and  was  widely  advertised  as  a 
most  remarkable  animal  that  had  been  captured  by  the  great  explorer's  party  in 
the  passes  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  exhibition  met  with  only  moderate  suc- 
cess in  New  York,  and  in  several  Northern  provincial  towns,  and  the  show  would 
have  fallen  flat  in  Washington,  had  it  not  been  for  the  over-zeal  of  Colonel 
Thomas  H.  Benton,  then  a  United  States  Senator  from  Missouri.  He  went  to  the 
show,  and  then  caused  the  arrest  of  my  agent  for  obtaining  twenty-five  cents 
from  him  under  "false  pretences."  No  mention  had  been  made  of  this  curious 
animal  in  any  letter  he  had  received  from  his  son-in-law,  Colonel  John  C.  Fre- 
mont, and  therefore  the  Woolly  Horse  had  not  been  captured  by  any  of  Fremont's 
party.  The  reasoning  was  hardly  as  sound  as  were  most  of  the  arguments  of 
"  Old  Bullion,"  and  the  case  was  dismissed.  After  a  few  days  of  merriment,  pub- 
lic curiosity  no  longer  turned  in  that  direction,  and  the  old  horse  was  permitted 
to  retire  to  private  life.  My  object  in  the  exhibition,  however,  was  fully  at- 
tained. When  it  was  generally  known  that  the  proprietor  of  the  American 
Museum  was  also  the  owner  of  the  famous  "Woolly  Horse,"  it  caused  yet  more 
talk  about  me  and  my  establishment,  and  visitors  began  to  say  that  they  would 
give  more  to  see  the  proprietor  of  the  Museum  than  to  view  the  entire  collection 
of  curiosities.  As  for  my  ruse  in  advertising  the  "Woolly  Horse"  as  having 
been  captured  by  Fremont's  exploring  party,  of  course  the  announcement  neither 
added  to  nor  took  from  the  interest  of  the  exhibition;  but  it  arrested  public  at- 
tention, and  it  was  the  only  feature  of  the  show  that  I  now  care  to  forget. 

It  will  be  seen  that  very  much  of  the  success  which  attended  my  many  years 
proprietorship  of  the  American  Museum  was  due  to  advertising,  and  especially 
to  my  odd  methods  of  advertising.  Always  determined  to  have  curiosities  worth 
showing  and  worth  seeing,  at  "twenty-five  cents  admission,  children  half  price," 
I  studied  ways  to  arrest  public  attention;  to  startle,  to  make  people  talk  and 
wonder;  in  short,  to  let  the  world  know  that  I  had  a  Museum. 

About  this  tune,  I  engaged  a  band  of  Indians  from  Iowa.  They  had  never 
seen  a  railroad  or  steamboat  until  they  saw  them  on  the  route  from  Iowa  to  New  ' 


68  THE   ROAD  TO   RICHES. 

York.  The  party  comprised  large  and  noble  specimens  of  the  untutored  savage,  as 
well  as  several  very  beautiful  squaws,  with  two  or  three  interesting  "papooses." 
They  lived  and  lodged  in  a  large  room  on  the  top  floor  of  the  Museum,  and 
cooked  their  own  victuals  in  their  own  way.  They  gave  their  war-dances  on  the 
stage  in  the  Lecture  Room  with  great  vigor  and  enthusiasm,  much  to  the  satisfac- 
tion of  the  audiences.  But  these  wild  Indians  seemed  to  consider  their  dances  as 
realities.  Hence,  when  they  gave  a  real  war  dance,  it  was  dangerous  for  any 
parties,  except  their  manager  and  interpreter,  to  be  on  the  stage,  for  the  moment 
they  had  finished  their  war  dance,  they  began  to  leap  and  peer  about  behind  the 
scenes  in  search  of  victims  for  their  tomahawks  and  scalping  knives  I  Indeed, 
lest  in  these  frenzied  moments  they  might  make  a  dash  at  the  orchestra  or  the 
audience,  we  had  a  high  rope  barrier  placed  between  them  and  the  savages  on 
the  front  of  the  stage. 

After  they  had  been  a  week  in  the  Museum,  I  proposed  a  change  of  perform- 
ance for  the  week  following,  by  introducing  new  dances.  Among  these  was  the 
Indian  wedding  dance.  At  that  time  I  printed  but  one  set  of  posters  (large 
bills)  per  week,  so  that  whatever  was  announced  for  Monday,  was  repeated  every 
day  and  evening  during  that  week.  Before  the  wedding  dance  came  off  on 
Monday  afternoon,  I  was  informed  that  I  was  to  provide  a  large  new  red  woollen 
blanket,  at  a  cost  of  ten  dollars,  for  the  bridegroom  to  present  to  the  father  of 
the  bride.  I  ordered  the  purchase  to  be  made ;  but  was  considerably  taken  aback, 
when  I  was  informed  that  I  must  have  another  new  blanket  for  the  evening, 
inasmuch  as  the  savage  old  Indian  Chief,  father-in-law  to  the  bridegroom,  would 
not  consent  to  his  daughter's  being  approached  with  the  wedding  dance  unless 
he  had  his  blanket  present. 

I  undertook  to  explain  to  the  chief,  through  the  interpreter,  that  this  was  onlT 
a  "make  believe"  wedding;  but  the  old  savage  shrugged  his  shoulders,  and  gave 
such  a  terrific  "  Ugh  1 "  that  I  was  glad  to  make  my  peace  by  ordering  another 
blanket.  As  we  gave  two  performances  per  day,  I  was  out  of  pocket  $120  for 
twelve  "wedding  blankets,"  that  week. 

One  of  the  beautiful  squaws  named  Do-humme  died  in  the  Museum.  She  had 
been  a  great  favorite  with  many  ladies,  among  whom  I  can  especially  name  Mrs. 
C.  M.  Sawyer,  wife  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  T.  J.  Sawyer.  Do-humme  was  buried  on 
the  border  of  Sylvan  Water,  at  Greenwood  Cemetery,  where  a  small  monument 
erected  by  her  friends,  designates  her  last  resting-place. 

The  poor  Indians  were  very  sorrowful  for  many  days,  and  desired  to  get  back 
again  to  their  western  wilds.  The  father  and  the  betrothed  of  Do-humme  cooked 
various  dishes  of  food  and  placed  them  upon  the  roof  of  the  Museum,  where  they 
believed  the  spirit  of  their  departed  friend  came  daily  for  its  supply;  and  these 
dishes  were  renewed  every  morning  during  the  stay  of  the  Indians  at  the 
Museum. 

It  was  sometimes  very  amusing  to  hear  the  remarks  of  strangers  who  came  to 
visit  my  Museum.     One  afternoon  a  prim  maiden  lady  from  Portland,  Maine, 
walked  into  my  private  office,  where  I  was  busily  engaged  in  writing,  and,  tak 
ing  a  seat  on  the  sofa,  she  asked: 
'  Is  this  Mr.  Barnum  ?" 
'It  is,"  I  replied. 
'  Is  this  Mr.  P.  T.  Barnum,  the  proprietor  of  the  Museum  ? "  she  asked. 

"The  same,"  was  my  answer. 

'Why,  really,  Mr.  Barnum,"  she  continued,  "  vou  look  much  like  other  com 
mon  folks,  after  all." 


THE  BOAD  TO  EICHBS.  69 

"  Dear  me  1  Mr.  Barnum,"  said  she,  "  I  never  went  to  any  Museum  before,  nor 
to  any  place  of  amusement  or  public  entertainment,  excepting  our  school  exhibi- 
tions ;  and  I  have  sometimes  felt  that  they  even  may  be  wicked,  for  some  parts 
of  the  dialogues  seemed  frivolous;  but  I  have  heard  so  much  of  your  'moral 
drama,'  and  the  great  good  you  are  doing  for  the  rising  generation  that  I  thought 
1  must  come  here  and  see  for  myself." 

At  this  moment  the  gong  sounded  to  announce  the  opening  of  the  Lecture 
Room,  and  the  crowd  passed  on  in  haste  to  secure  seats.  My  spinster  visitor 
sprang  to  her  feet  and  anxiously  inquired: 

"Are  the  services  about  to  commence  ? " 

"  Yes,"  I  replied,  "the  congregation  is  now  going  up." 


CHAPTER   X. 

A.NOTHER   SUCCESSFUL   SPECULATION". 

BY  some  arrangement,  the  particulars  of  which  I  do  not  remember,  if,  indeed, 
1  ever  cared  to  know  them,  Mr.  Peale  was  conducting  Peale's  Museum,  which  he 
claimed  was  a  more  "scientific"  establishment  than  mine,  and  he  pretended  to 
appeal  to  a  higher  class  of  patrons.  Mesmerism  was  one  of  his  scientific  attrac- 
tions, and  he  had  a  subject  upon  whom  he  operated  at  times  with  the  greatest 
seeming  success,  and  fairly  astonished  his  audiences.  But  there  were  times  when 
the  subject  was  wholly  unimpressible  and  then  those  who  had  paid  their  money 
to  see  the  woman  put  into  the  mesmeric  state  cried  out  "humbug,"  and  the  repu- 
tation of  the  establishment  .seriously  suffered. 

It  devolved  upon  me  to  open  a  rival  mesmeric  performance,  and  accordingly  1 
engaged  a  bright  little  girl  who  was  exceedingly  susceptible  to  such  mesmeric 
influences  as  I  could  induce.  That  is,  she  learned  her  lesson  thoroughly,  and 
when  I  had  apparently  put  her  to  sleep  with  a  few  passes  and  stood  behind  hei, 
she  seemed  to  be  duly  "impressed"  as  I  desired;  raised  her  hands  as  I  willed, 
fell  from  her  chair  to  the  floor;  and  if  I  put  candy  or  tobacco  into  my  mouth, 
she  was  duly  delighted  or  disgusted.  She  never  failed  in  these  routine  perform- 
ances. Strange  to  say,  believers  in  mesmerism  used  to  witness  her  performances 
with  the  greatest  pleasure  and  adduce  them  as  positive  proofs  that  there  was 
something  in  mesmerism,  and  they  applauded  tremendously — up  to  a  certain 
point. 

That  point  was  reached  when,  leaving  the  girl  "asleep,"  I  called  up  some  one 
in  the  audience,  promising  to  put  him  "in  the  same  state"  within  five  minutes, 
or  forfeit  fifty  dollars.  Of  course,  all  my  "passes"  would  not  put  a  man  in  the 
mesmeric  state ;  at  the  end  of  three  minutes  he  was  as  wide  awake  as  ever. 

" Never  mind,"  I  would  say,  looking  at  my  watch;  " I  have  two  minutes  more, 
and  meantime,  to  show  that  a  person  in  this  state  is  utterly  insensible  to  pain,  1 
propose  to  cut  off  one  of  the  fingers  of  the  little  girl  who  is  still  asleep."  I  would 
then  take  out  my  knife  and  feel  of  the  edge,  and  when  I  turned  around  to  the 
girl  whom  I  left  on  the  chair,  she  had  fled  behind  the  scenes,  to  the  intense 
amusement  of  the  greater  part  of  the  audience,  and  to  the  amazement  of  the 
mesmerists  who  were  present. 

"Why!  where's  my  little  girl?"  I  asked  with  feigned  astonishment. 

"Oh!  she  ran  away  when  you  began  to  talk  about  cutting  off  fingers." 

" Then  she  was  wide  awake,  was  she?" 

"  Of  course  she  was,  all  the  time." 

"I  suppose  so;  and,  my  dear  sir,  I  promised  that  you  should  be  'in  the  same 
state '  at  the  end  of  five  minutes,  and  as  I  believe  you  are  so,  I  do  not  forfeit 
fifty  dollars." 

I  kept  up  this  performance  for  several  weeks,  till  I  quite  killed  Peale's  "gen- 
uine "  mesmerism  in  the  rival  establishment.  At  the  end  of  six  months  I  bought 
Peale's  Museum,  and  the  whole,  including  the  splendid  gallery  of  American 
portraits,  was  removed  to  the  American  Museum,  and  I  immediately  advertised 

70 


ANOTHER   SUCCESSFUL   SPECULATION.  71 

the  great  card  of  a  "Double  attraction"  and  "Two  Museums  in  One,"  without 
extra  charge. 

The  Museum  became  a  mania  with  me,  and  I  made  everything  possible  subser- 
vient to  it.  On  the  eve  of  elections,  rival  politicians  would  ask  me  for  whom  I 
was  going  to  vote,  and  my  answer  invariably  was,  "I  vote  for  the  American 
Museum."  In  fact,  at  that  time,  I  cared  very  little  about  politics,  and  a  great 
deal  about  my  business.  Meanwhile  the  Museum  prospered  wonderfully,  and 
everything  I  attempted  or  engaged  in,  seemed  at  the  outset  an  assured  success. 

The  giants  whom  I  exhibited  from  time  to  time,  were  always  literally  great 
features  in  my  establishment,  and  they  oftentimes  afforded  me,  as  well  as  my 
patrons,  food  for  much  amusement  as  well  as  wonder.  The  Quaker  giant,  Hales, 
was  quite  a  wag  in  his  way.  He  went  once  to  see  the  new  house  of  an  acquaint- 
ance who  had  suddenly  become  rich,  but  who  was  a  very  ignorant  man.  When 
he  came  back  he  described  the  wonders  of  the  mansion,  and  said  that  the  proud 
proprietor  showed  him  everything  from  basement  to  attic :  parlors,  bed-rooms, 
dining-room,  and,"  said  Hales,  "what  he  calls  his  'study' — meaning,  I  suppose, 
the  place  where  he  intends  to  study  his  spelling-book ! " 

I  had  at  one  time  two  famous  men,  the  French  giant,  M.  Bihin,  a  very  slim 
man,  and  the  Arabian  giant,  Colonel  Groshen.  These  men  generally  got  on 
together  very  well,  though,  of  course,  each  was  jealous  of  the  other,  and  of  the 
attention  the  rival  received,  or  the  notice  he  attracted.  One  day  they  quarreled, 
and  a  lively  interchange  of  compliments  ensued,  the  Arabian  calling  the  French- 
man a  "Shanghai,"  and  received  in  return  the  epithet  of  "Nigger."  From 
words  both  were  eager  to  proceed  to  blows,  and  both  ran  to  my  collection  of 
arms,  one  seizing  the  club  with  which  Captain  Cook,  or  any  ether  man,  might 
have  been  killed,  if  it  were  judiciously  wielded,  and  the  other  laying  hands  on  a 
sword  of  the  terrific  size,  which  is  supposed  to  have  been  conventional  in  the  days 
of  the  Crusades.  The  preparations  for  a  deadly  encounter,  and  the  high  words  of 
the  contending  parties,  brought  a  dozen  of  the  Museum  attaches  to  the  spot,  and 
these  men  threw  themselves  between  the  gigantic  combatants.  Hearing  the 
disturbance,  I  ran  from  my  private  office  to  the  dueling  ground,  and  said : 

"Look  here!  This  is  all  right;  if  you  want  to  fight  each  other,  maiming  and 
perhaps  killing  one  or  both  of  you,  that  is  your  affair;  but  my  interest  lies  here: 
you  are  both  under  engagement  to  me,  and  if  this  duel  is  to  come  off,  I  and  the 
public  have  a  right  to  participate.  It  must  be  duly  advertised,  and  must  take 
place  on  the  stage  of  the  Lecture.  Room.  No  performance  of  yours  would  be  a 
greater  attraction,  and  if  you  kill  each  other,  our  engagement  can  end  with  your 
duel." 

This  proposition,  made  in  apparent  earnest,  so  delighted  the  giants  that  they  at 
once  burst  into  a  laugh,  shook  hands,  and  quarreled  no  more. 

In  November,  1842,  I  was  at  Bridgeport,  Connecticut,  where  I  heard  of  a 
remarkably  small  child,  and,  at  my  request,  my  brother,  Philo  F.  Barnuin, 
brought  him  to  the  hotel.  He  was  not  two  feet  high;  he  weighed  less  than  six- 
teen pounds,  and  was  the  smallest  child  I  ever  saw  that  could  walk  alone;  he 
was  a  perfectly  formed,  bright-eyed  little  fellow,  with  light  hair  and  ruddy 
cheeks,  and  he  enjoyed  the  best  of  health.  He  was  exceedingly  bashful,  but 
after  some  coaxing,  he  was  induced  to  talk  with  me,  and  he  told  me  that  he  was 
the  son  of  Sherwood  E.  Stratton,  and  that  his  own  name  was  Charles  S.  Stratton. 
After  seeing  him  and  talking  with  him,  I  at  once  determined  to  secure  his  ser- 
vices from  his  parents  and  to  exhibit  him  in  public. 


72  ANOTHER  SUCCESSFUL  SPECULATION. 

I  engaged  him  for  four  weeks,  at  three  dollars  a  week,  with  all  traveling  and 
boarding  charges  for  himself  and  his  mother  at  my  expense.  They  came  to 
New  York  Thanksgiving  day,  December  8,  1842,  and  I  announced  the  dwarf  on 
my  Museum  bills  as  "  General  Tom  Thumb." 

I  took  the  greatest  pains  to  educate  and  train  my  diminutive  prodigy,  devoting 
many  hours  to  the  task  by  day  and  by  night,  and  I  was  very  successful,  for  he 
was  an  apt  pupil,  with  a  great  deal  of  native  talent,  and  a  keen  sense  of  the 
ludicrous.* 

I  afterwards  re-engaged  him  for  one  year,  at  seven  dollars  a  week,  with  a 
gratuity  of  fifty  dollars  at  the  end  of  the  engagement,  and  the  privilege  of  exhib- 
iting him  anywhere  in  the  United  States,  in  which  event  his  parents  were  to 
accompany  him  and  I  was  to  pay  all  traveling  expenses.  He  speedily  became  a 
public  favorite,  and  long  before  the  year  was  out,  I  voluntarily  increased  his 
weekly  salary  to  twenty-five  dollars,  and  he  fairly  earned  it. 

Two  years  had  now  elapsed  since  I  bought  the  Museum,  and  I  had  long  since 
paid  for  the  entire  establishment  from  the  profits;  I  had  bought  out  my  only 
rival;  I  was  free  from  debt,  and  had  a  handsome  surplus  in  the  treasury.  The 
business  had  long  ceased  to  be  an  experiment;  it  was  an  established  success,  and 
was  in  such  perfect  running  order,  that  it  could  safely  be  committed  to  the  man- 
agement of  trustworthy  and  tried  agents. 

Accordingly,  looking  for  a  new  field  for  my  individual  efforts,  I  entered  into 
an  agreement  for  General  Tom  Thumb's  services  for  another  year,  at  fifty  dollars 
a  week  and  all  expenses,  with  the  privilege  of  exhibiting  him  in  Europe.  I  pro- 
posed to  test  the  curiosity  of  men  and  women  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic. 

After  arranging  my  business  affairs  for  a  long  absence,  and  making  every 
preparation  for  an  extended  foreign  tour,  on  Thursday,  January  18,  1844,  I  went 
on  board  the  new  and  fine  sailing  ship  "Yorkshire,"  Captain  D.  G.  Bailey,  bound 
for  Liverpool.  Our  party  included  General  Tom  Thumb,  his  parents,  his  tutor, 
and  Professor  Guillaudeu,  the  French  naturalist.  We  were  accompanied  by 
several  personal  friends,  and  the  City  Brass  Band  kindly  volunteered  to  escort  us 
to  Sandy  Hook. 

A  voyage  to  Liverpool  is  now  an  old,  familiar  story,  and  I  abstain  from  enter- 
ing into  details,  though  I  have  abundant  material  respecting  my  own  experiences 
of  my  first  sea- voyage  in  the  first  two  of  a  series  of  one  hundred  letters  which  I 
wrote  in  Europe,  as  correspondent  of  the  New  York  Atlas. 

On  our  arrival  at  Liverpool,  quite  a  crowd  had  assembled  at  the  dock  to  see 
Pom  Thumb,  for  it  had  been  previously  announced  that  he  would  arrive  in  the 
"  Yorkshire,"  but  his  mother  managed  to  smuggle  him  ashore  unnoticed,  for  she 
carried  him,  as  if  he  was  an  infant,  in  her  arms. 

My  letters  of  introduction  speedily  brought  me  into  friendly  relations  with 
many  excellent  families,  and  I  was  induced  to  hire  a  hall  and  present  the  General 
to  the  public,  for  a  short  season  in  Liverpool  I  had  intended  to  proceed  directly 
to  London,  and  begin  operations  at  "headquarters,"  that  is,  in  Buckingham 
Palace,  if  possible;  but  I  had  been  advised  that  the  royal  family  was  in  mourn 
ing  for  the  death  of  Prince  Albert's  father,  and  would  not  permit  the  approacl 
of  any  entertainments. 

Meanwhile,  confidential  lettei's  from  London,  informed  me  that  Mr.  Maddox, 
Manager  of  Princess's  Theater,  was  coming  down  to  witness  my  exlu'bition,  with 
a  view  to  making  an  engagement.  He  came  privately,  but  I  was  fully  informed 

*Se«  Illustration,  opposite. 


ANOTHER   SUCCESSFUL  SPECULATION.  73 

as  to  his  presence  and  object.  A  friend  pointed  him  out  to  me  in  the  hall,  and 
when  I  stepped  up  to  him,  and  called  him  by  name,  he  was  "taken  all  aback," 
and  avowed  his  purpose  in  visiting  Liverpool.  An  interview  resulted  in  an 
engagement  of  the  General  for  three  nights  at  Princess's  Theater.  I  was  unwill- 
ing to  contract  for  a  longer  period,  and  even  this  short  engagement,  though  on 
liberal  terms,  was  acceded  to  only  as  a  means  of  advertisement.  So  soon,  there- 
fore, as  I  could  bring  my  short,  but  highly  successful  tOMon  in  Liverpool  to  a 
close,  wij  went  to  London. 
4 


CHAPTER    XI. 

GENERAL  TOM   THUMB    IN   ENGLAND. 

IMMEDIATELY  after  our  arrival  in  London,  the  General  came  oMt  at  the  Prin- 
cess's Theater,  and  made  so  decided  a  "  hit "  that  it  was  difficult  to  decide[who  was 
best  pleased,  the  spectators,  the  manager,  or  myself.  I  was  offered  far  higher 
terms  for  a  re-engagement,  but  my  purpose  had  been  already  answered;  the 
news  was  spread  everywhere  that  General  Tom  Thumb,  an  unparalleled  curiosity, 
was  in  the  city;  and  i$  only  remained  for  me  to  bring  him  before  the  public,  on 
my  own  account,  and  in  my  own  time  and  way. 

I  took  a  furnished  mansion  in  Grafton  street,  Bond  street,  West  End,  in  the 
very  center  of  the  most  fashionable  locality.  The  house  had  previously  beei 
occupied  for  several  years  by  Lord  Talbot,  and  Lord  Brougham  and  half  a  dozen 
families  of  the  aristocracy  and  many  of  the  gentry  were  my  neighbors.  From 
this  magnificent  mansion,  I  sent  letters  of  invitation  to  the  editors  and  several  of 
the  nobility,  to  visit  the  General  Most  of  them  called,  and  were  highly  gratified. 
The  word  of  approval  was  indeed  so  passed  around  in  high  circles,  that  uninvited 
parties  drove  to  my  door  in  crested  carriages,  and  were  not  admitted. 

This  procedure,  though  in  some  measure  a  stroke  of  policy,  was  neither  singular 
nor  hazardous,  under  the  circumstances.  I  had  not  yet  announced  a  public  exhi- 
bition, and  as  a  private  American  gentleman,  it  became  me  to  maintain  the  dignity 
of  my  position.  I  therefore  instructed  my  liveried  servant  to  deny  admission  to 
see  my  "ward,"  excepting  to  persons  who  brought  cards  of  invitation.  He  did 
it  in  a  proper  manner,  and  no  offence  could  be  taxen,  though  I  was  always  partic- 
ular to  send  an  invitation  immediately  to  such  as  had  not  been  admitted. 

During  our  first  week  in  London,  the  Hon.  Edward  Everett,  the  American 
Minister,  to  whom  I  had  letters  of  introduction,  called  and  was  highly  pleased 
with  his  diminutive  though  renowned  countryman.  We  dined  with  him  the  next 
day,  by  invitation,  and  his  family  loaded  the  young  American  with  presents. 
Mr.  Everett  kindly  promised  to  use  influence  at  the  Palace  in  person,  with  a 
view  to  having  Tom  Thumb  introduced  to  Her  Majesty  Queen  Victoria, 

A  few  evenings  afterwards  the  Baroness  Rothschild  sent  her  carriage  for  us. 
We  were  received  by  a  half  a  dozen  servants,  and  were  ushered  up  a  broad  flight 
of  marble  stairs  to  the  drawing-room,  where  we  met  the  Baroness  and  a  party  of 
twenty  or  more  ladies  and  gentlemen.  In  this  sumptous  mansion  of  the  richest 
banker  in  the  world,  we  spent  about  two  hours,  and  when  we  took  our  leave  a 
well-filled  purse  was  quietly  slipped  into  my  hand.  The  golden  shower  had  begun 
to  fall. 

I  now  engaged  the  "Egyptian  Hall,"  in  Piccadilly,  and  the  announcement  of 
my  unique  exhibition  was  promptly  answered  by  a  rush  of  visitors,  in  which  the 
wealth  and  fashion  of  London  were  liberally  represented.  I  made  these  arrange- 
ments because  I  had  little  hope  of  being  soon  brought  to  the  Queen's  presence 
(for  the  reason  before  mentioned),  but  Mr.  Everett's  generous  influence  secured 
ray  object.  I  breakfasted  at  his  house  one  morning,  by  invitation,  in  company 
with  Mr.  Charles  Murray,  an  author  of  creditable  repute,  who  held  the  office  of 

74 


GENERAL  TOM   THUMB   IN   ENGLAND.  75 

Master  of  the  Queen's  Household.  In  the  course  of  conversation,  Mr.  Murray 
inquired  as  to  my  plans,  and  I  informed  him  that  I  intended  going  to  the  Conti- 
nent shortly,  though  I  should  be  glad  to  remain  if  the  General  could  have  an 
interview  with  the  Queen,  adding  that  such  an  event  would  be  of  great  consequence 
to  me. 

Mr.  Murray  kindly  offered  his  good  offices  in  the  case,  and  the  next  day  one  of 
the  Life  Guards,  a  tall,  noble-looking  fellow,  bedecked  as  became  his  station, 
brought  me  a  note,  conveying  the  Queen's  invitation  to  General  Tom  Thumb  and 
his  guardian,  Mr.  Barnum,  to  appear  at  Buckingham  Palace  on  an  evening  speci- 
fied. Special  instructions  were  the  same  day  orally  given  me  by  Mr.  Murray,  by 
Her  Majesty's  command,  to  suffer  the  General  to  appear  before  her,  as  he  would 
appear  anywhere  else,  without  any  training  in  the  use  of  the  titles  of  royalty,  as 
the  Queen  desired  to  see  him  act  naturally  and  without  restraint. 

Determined  to  make  the  most  of  the  occasion,  I  put  a  placard  on  the  door  of 
the  Egyptian  Hall:  "  Closed  this  evening,  General  Tom  Thumb  being  at  Bucking- 
ham Palace  by  command  of  Her  Majesty." 

On  arriving  at  the  Palace,  the  Lord  in  Waiting  put  me  "  under  drill "  as  to  the 
manner  and  form  in  which  I  should  conduct  myself  in  the  presence  of  royalty. 
I  was  to  answer  all  questions  by  Her  Majesty  through  him,  and,  in  no  event,  to 
speak  directly  to  the  Queen.  In  leaving  the  royal  presence  I  was  to  "back  out," 
keeping  my  face  always  towards  Her  Majesty,  and  the  illustrious  lord,  kindly 
gave  me  a  specimen  of  that  sort  of  backward  locomotion.  How  far  I  profited  by 
his  instructions  and  example,  will  presently  appear. 

We  were  conducted  through  a  long  corridor  to  a  broad  flight  of  marble  steps, 
which  led  to  the  Queen's  magnificent  picture  gallery,  where  Her  Majesty  and 
Prince  Albert,  the  Duchess  of  Kent,  \  '.  ;;jul  others  were 

awaiting  our  arrival  They  were  standing  at  the  farther  end  of  the  room  when 
the  doors  were  thrown  open,  and  the  General  walked  in,  looking  like  a  wax  doll 
gifted  with  the  power  of  locomotion.  Surprise  and  pleasure  were  depicted  on 
the  countenances  of  the  royal  circle  at  beholding  this  remarkable  specimen  of 
humanity  so  much  smaller  than  they  had  evidently  expected  to  find  him. 

The  General  advanced  with  a  firm  step,  and,  as  he  came  within  hailing  dis- 
tance, made  a  very  graceful  bow,  and  exclaimed,  "Good  evening,  ladies  and 
gentlemen!" 

A  burst  of  laughter  followed  this  salutation.  The  Queen  then  took  him  by  the 
hand,  led  him  about  the  gallery,  and  asked  him  many  questions,  the  answers  to 
which  kept  the  party  in  an  uninterrupted  strain  of  merriment.  The  General 
familiarly  informed  the  Queen  that  her  picture  gallery  was  "first-rate,"  and  told 
her  he  should  like  to  see  the  Prince  of  Wales.  The  Queen  replied  that  the  Prince 
had  retired  to  rest,  but  that  he  should  see  him  on  soAe  future  occasion.  The 
General  then  gave  his  songs,  dances,  and  imitations,  and,  after  a  conversation 
with  Prince  Albert  and  all  present,  which  continued  for  more  than  an  hour,  we 
were  permitted  to  depart. 

Before  describing  the  process  and  incidents  of  "  backing  out,"  I  must  acknowl- 
edge how  sadly  I  broke  through  the  counsel  of  the  Lord  in  Waiting.  While 
Prince  Albert  and  others  were  engaged  with  the  General,  the  Queen  was  gather- 
ing inf ormation  from  me  in  regard  to  his  history,  etc.  Two  or  three  questions 
were  put  and  answered  through  the  process  indicated  in  my  drill.  It  was  a 
round-about  way  of  doing  business,  not  at  all  to  my  liking  and  I  suppose  the 
Lord  in  waiting  was  seriously  shocked,  if  not  outraged,  when  I  entered  directly 
into  conversation  with  Her  Majesty.  She,  however,  seemed  not  disposed  to  check 


76  GENEBAL  TOM  THUMB   IN  ENGLAND. 

my  boldness,  f Of  she  immediately  spoke  directly  to  me  in  obtaining  the  informa- 
tion which  she  sought.  I  felt  entirely  at  ease  in  her  presence,  and  could  not  avoid 
contrasting  her  sensible  and  amiable  manners  with  the  stiffness  and  formality  of 
upstart  gentility  at  home  or  abroad. 

The  Queen  was  modestly  attired  in  plain  black,  and  wore  no  ornaments.  Indeed, 
surrounded  as  she  was  by  ladies  arrayed  in  the  highest  style  of  magnificence, 
their  dresses  sparkling  with  diamonds,  she  was  the  last  person  whom  a  stranger 
would  have  pointed  out  in  that  circle  as  the  Queen  of  England 

The  Lord  in  waiting  was  perhaps  mollified  toward  me  when  he  saw  me  f  oUow- 
ing  his  illustrious  example  in  retiring  from  the  royal  presence.  He  was  accustomed 
to  the  process,  and  therefore  was  able  to  keep  somewhat  ahead  (or  rather  aback) 
of  me,  but  even  /  stepped  rather  fast  for  the  other  member  of  the  retiring  party. 
We  had  a  considerable  distance  to  travel  in  that  long  gallery  before  reaching  the 
door,  and  whenever  the  General  found  he  was  losing  ground,  he  turned  around 
and  ran  a  few  steps,  then  resumed  the  position  of  "backing  out,"  then  turned 
around  and  ran,  and  so  continued  to  alternate  his  methods  of  getting  to  the  door, 
until  the  gallery  fairly  rang  with  the  merriment  of  the  royal  spectators.  It  was 
really  one  of  the  richest  scenes  I  ever  saw;  running,  under  the  circumstances,  was 
an  offence  sufficiently  heinous  to  excite  the  indignation  of  the  Queen's  favorite 
poodle  dog,  and  he  vented  his  displeasure  by  barking  so  sharply  as  to  startle  the 
General  from  his  propriety.  He,  however,  recovered  immediately,  and,  with  his 
little  cane,  commenced  an  attack  on  the  poodle,  and  a  funny  fight  ensued,  which 
renewed  and  increased  the  merriment  of  the  royal  party.* 

This  was  near  the  door  of  exit.  We  had  scarcely  passed  into  the  ante-room, 
when  one  of  the  Queen's  attendants  came  to  us  with  the  expressed  hope  of  Her 
Majesty  that  the  General  had  sustained  no  damage;  to  which  the  Lord  in  Wait- 
ing playfully  added,  that  in  case  of  injury  to  so  renowned  a  personage,  he  should 
fear  a  declaration  of  war  by  the  United  States! 

The  courtesies  of  the  Palace  were  not  yet  exhausted,  for  we  were  escorted  to 
an  apartment  in  which  refreshments  had  been  provided  for  us.  I  was  anxious 
that  the  "Court  Journal"  of  the  ensuing  day  should  contain  more  than  a 
mere  line  in  relation  to  the  General's  interview  with  the  Queen,  and,  on 
inquiry,  I  learned  that  the  gentleman  who  had  charge  of  that  feature  in  the  daily 
papers  was  then  in  the  Palace.  He  was  sent  for  by  my  solicitation,  and  promptly 
acceded  to  my  request  for  such  a  notice  as  would  attract  attention.  He  even 
generously  desired  me  to  give  him  an  outline  of  what  I  sought,  and  I  was  pleased 
to  see  afterwards,  that  he  had  inserted  my  notice  verbatim. 

This  notice  of  my  visit  to  the  Queen  wonderfully  increased  the  attraction  of 
"  Gen.  Tom  Thumb.."  and  compelled  me  to  obtain  a  more  commodious  hall  for  my 
exhibition.  I  accordingly  removed  to  the  larger  room  in  the  same  building. 

On  our  second  visit  to  the  Queen,  we  were  received  in  what  is  called  the 
"Yellow  Drawing-Room,"  a  magnificent  apartment,  surpassing  in  splendor  and 
gorgeousness  anything  of  the  kind  I  had  ever  seen.  It  is  on  the  north  side  of  the 
gallery,  and  is  entered  from  that  apartment.  It  was  hung  with  drapery  of  rich 
yellow  satin  damask,  the  couches,  sofas  and  chairs  being  covered  with  the  same 
material.  The  vases,  urns  and  ornaments  were  all  of  modern  patterns,  and  the 
most  exquisite  workmanship.  The  room  was  panelled  in  gold,  and  the  heavy 
cornices  beautifully  carved  and  gilt.  The  tables,  pianos,  etc.,  were  mounted 
mth  gold,  inlaid  with  pearl  of  various  hues,  and  of  the  most  elegant  designs. 

*  See  Illustration,  opposite. 


GENERAL  TOM  THUMB  IN  ENGLAND.  77 

W«  were  ushered  into  this  gorgeous  drawing-room  before  the  Queen  and  royal 
circle  had  left  the  dining-room,  and,  as  they  approached,  the  General  bowed 
respectfully,  and  remarked  to  Her  Majesty  "  that  he  had  seen  her  before,"  adding, 
"  I  think  this  is  a  prettier  room  than  the  picture  gallery;  that  chandelier  is  very 
fine." 

The  Queen  smilingly  took  him  by  the  hand,  and  said  she  hoped  he  was  very 
well. 

"  Yes,  ma'am,"  he  replied,  "  I  am  first  rate." 

"General,"  continued  the  Queen,  "this  is  the  Prince  of  Wales." 

"  How  are  you,  Prince? "  said  the  General,  shaking  him  by  the  hand;  and  then 
standing  beside  the  Prince,  he  remarked,  "the  Prince  is  taller  than  I  am,  but  I 
feel  as  big  as  anybody,"  upon  which  he  strutted  up  and  down  the  room  as  proud 
as  a  peacock,  amid  shouts  of  laughter  from  all  present. 

The  Queen  then  introduced  the  Princess  Royal,  and  the  General  immediately 
led  her  to  his  elegant  little  sofa,  which  we  took  with  us,  and  with  much  politeness 
sat  himself  down  beside  her.  Then,  rising  from  his  seat,  he  went  through  his 
various  performances,  and  the  Queen  handed  Tnim  an  elegant  and  costly  souvenir, 
which  had  been  expressly  made  for  him  by  her  order,  for  which,  he  told  her, 
"  he  was  very  much  obliged,  and  would  keep  it  as  long  as  he  lived."  The  Queen 
of  the  Belgians  (daughter  of  Louis  Philippe)  was  present  on  this  occasion.  She 
asked  the  General  where  he  was  going  when  he  left  London? 

"  To  Paris,"  he  replied. 

"  Whom  do  you  expect  to  see  there  ? "  she  continued. 

Of  course  all  expected  he  would  answer,  "the  King  of  the  French,"  but  the 
little  fellow  replied, 

"  Monsieur  Guillaudeu." 

The  two  Queens  looked  inquiringly  to  me,  and  when  I  informed  them  that  M. 
Gillaudeu  was  my  French  naturalist,  who  had  preceded  me  to  Paris,  they  laughed 
most  heartily. 

On  our  third  visit  to  Buckingham  Palace,  Leopold,  King  of  the  Belgians,  was 
also  present.  He  was  highly  pleased,  and  asked  a  multitude  of  questions.  Queen 
Victoria  desired  the  General  to  sing  a  song,  and  asked  him  what  song  he  preferred 
to  sing. 

"Yankee  Doodle,"  was  the  prompt  reply. 

This  answer  was  as  unexpected  to  me  as  it  was  to  the  royal  party.  When  the 
merriment  it  occasioned  had  somewhat  subsided,  the  Queen  gopd-humoredly 
remarked, ' '  That  is  a  very  pretty  song,  General,  sing  it,  if  you  please. "  The  General 
complied,  and  soon  afterwards  we  retired.  I  ought  to  add,  that  after  each  of  our 
three  visits  to  Buckingham  Palace,  a  very  handsome  sum  was  sent  to  me,  of 
course  by  the  Queen's  command.  This,  however,  was  the  smallest  part  of  the 
advantage  derived  from  these  interviews,  as  will  be  at  once  apparent  to  all  who 
consider  the  force  of  Court  example  in  England. 

The  British  public  were  now  fairly  excited.  Not  to  have  seen  General  Tom 
Thumb  was  decidedly  unfashionable,  and  from  March  20th  until  July  20th,  the 
levees  of  the  little  General,  at  Egyptian  Hall,  were  continually  crowded,  the 
receipts  averaging  during  the  whole  period  about  five  hundred  dollars  per  day, 
and  sometimes  going  considerably  beyond  that  sum.  At  the  fashionable  hour, 
sixty  carriages  of  the  nobility  have  been  counted  at  one  time  standing  in  front 
of  our  exhibition  rooms  in  Piccadilly. 

Portraits  of  the  little  General  were  published  in  all  the  pictorial  papers  of  the 
time.  Polkas  and  quadrilles  were  named  after  him,  and  songs  were  sung  in  his 


78  GENERAL  TOM  THUMB   IN  ENGLAND. 

praise.  He  was  an  almost  constant  theme  for  the  London  Punch,  which  served 
up  the  General  and  myself  so  daintily  that  it  no  doubt  added  vastly  to  our 
receipts. 

Besides  his  three  public  performances  per  day,  the  little  General  attended  three 
or  four  private  parties  per  week,  for  which  we  were  paid  eight  to  ten  guineas  each. 
Frequently  we  would  visit  two  parties  in  the  same  evening,  and  the  demand  in 
that  line  was  much  greater  than  the  supply.  The  Queen  Dowager  Adelaide 
requested  the  General's  attendance  at  Marlborough  House  one  afternoon.  He 
went  in  his  court  dress,  consisting  of  a  richly  embroidered  brown  silk-velvet  coat 
and  short  breeches,  white  satin  vest  with  fancy  colored  embroidery,  white  silk 
stockings  and  pumps,  wig,  bagwig,  cocked  hat,  and  a  dress  sword. 

"  Why,  General,"  said  the  Queen  Dowager,  "  I  think  you  look  very  smart 
to-day." 

"  I  guess  I  do,"  said  the  General  complacently. 

A  large  party  of  the  nobility  were  present.  The  old  DuKe  of  Cambridge 
offered  the  little  General  a  pinch  of  snuff,  which  he  declined.  The  General  sang 
his  songs,  performed  his  dances,  and  cracked  his  jokes,  to  the  great  amusement 
and  delight  of  the  distinguished  circle  of  visitors. 

"Dear  little  General,"  said  the  kind-hearted  Queen,  taking  him  upon  her  lap, 
"  I  see  you  have  got  no  watch.  Will  you  permit  me  to  present  you  with  a  watch 
and  chain* " 

"I  would  like  them  very  much,"  replied  the  General,  bis  eyes  glistening  with 
joy  as  he  spoke. 

"I  will  have  them  made  expressly  for  you,"  responded  the  Queen  Dowager; 
and  at  the  same  moment  she  called  a  friend  and  desired  him  to  see  that  the 
proper  order  was  executed.  A  few  weeks  thereafter  we  were  called  again  to 
Marlborough  House.  A  number  of  the  children  of  the  nobility  were  present,  as 
well  as  some  of  their  parents.  After  passing  a  few  compliments  with  the 
General,  Queen  Adelaide  presented  him  with  a  beautiful  little  gold  watch,  placing 
the  chain  around  his  neck  with  her  own  Via"d,s, 

After  giving  his  performances,  we  withdrew  from  the  royal  presence,  and  the 
elegant  little  watch  presented  by  the  hands  of  Her  Majesty  the  Queen  Dowager 
was  not  only  duly  heralded,  but  was  also  placed  upon  a  pedestal  in  the  hall  of 
exhibition,  together  with  the  presents  from  Queen  Victoria,  and  covered  with  a 
glass  vase.  These  presents,  to  which  were  soon  added  an  elegant  gold  snuff-box 
mounted  with  turquois,  presented  by  his  Grace  the  Duke  of  Devonshire,  and 
many  other  costly  gifts  of  the  nobility  and  gentry,  added  to  the  attractions  of 
the  exhibition.  The  Duke  of  Wellington  called  frequently  to  see  the  little  General 
at  his  public  levees.  The  first  time  he  called,  the  General  was  personating  Napo- 
leon Bonaparte,  marching  up  and  down  the  platform,  and  apparently  taking 
snuff  in  deep  meditation.  He  was  dressed  in  the  well-known  uniform  of  the 
Emperor.  I  introduced  him  to  the  "  Iron  Duke,"  who  inquired  the  subject  of  his 
meditations.  "I  was  thinking  of  the  loss  of  the  battle  of  Waterloo,"  was  the 
little  General's  immediate  reply.  This  display  of  wit  was  chronicled  throughout 
the  country,  and  was  of  itself  worth  thousands  of  pounds  to  the  exhibition.* 

General  Tom  Thumb  had  visited  the  King  of  Saxony  and  also  Ibrahim  Pacha 
who  was  then  in  London.  At  the  different  parties  we  attended,  we  met,  in  the 
course  of  the  season,  nearly  all  of  the  nobility.  Scarcely  a  nobleman  in  England 
failed  to  see  General  Tom  Thumb  at  his  own  house,  at  the  house  of  a  friend,  or  at 

*  See  niostration  page  168. 


GENERAL  TOM   THUMB    IN   ENGLAND.  79 

the  public  levees  at  Egyptian  Hall  The  General  was  a  decided  pet  with  some  of 
the  first  personages  in  the  land,  among  whom  may  be  mentioned  Sir  Robert  and 
Lady  Peel,  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Buckingham,  Duke  of  Bedford,  Duke  of 
Devonshire,  Count  d'Orsay,  Lady  Blessington,  Daniel  O'Connell,  Lord  Adolphus 
Fitzclarence,  Lord  Chesterfield,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Joshua  Bates,  of  the  firm  of  Baring 
Brothers  &  Co.,  and  many  other  persons  of  distinction.  We  had  the  free  entree  to 
all  the  theaters,  public  gardens,  and  places  of  entertainment,  and  frequently  met 
the  principal  artists,  editors,  poets,  and  authors  of  the  country.  Albert  Smith 
wrote  a  play  for  the  General  entitled  "  Hop  o'  my  Thumb,"  which  was  presented 
with  great  success  at  the  Lyceum  Theater,  London,  and  in  several  of  the  provin- 
cial theaters.  Our  visit  in  London  and  tour  through  the  provinces  were  enor- 
mously successful,  and  after  a  brilliant  season  in  Great  Britain  I  made  preparations 
to  take  the  General  to  Paris. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

IN    FKAKCE. 

BEFORE  taking  the  little  General  and  party  to  Paris,  1  went  over  alone  to 
arrange  the  preliminaries  for  our  campaign  in  that  city. 

I  was  very  fortunate  in  making  the  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Dion  Boucicault,  who 
was  then  temporarily  sojourning  in  that  city,  and  who  at  once  kindly  volunteered 
to  advise  and  assist  me  in  regard  to  numerous  matters  of  importance  relating  to 
the  approaching  visit  of  the  General.  He  spent  a  day  with  me  in  the  search  for 
suitable  accommodations  for  my  company,  and  by  giving  me  the  benefit  of  his 
experience,  he  saved  me  much  trouble  and  expense.  I  have  never  forgotten  the 
courtesy  extended  to  me  by  this  gentleman. 

I  hired,  at  a  large  rent,  the  Salle  Musard,  Rue  Vivienne.  I  made  the  most 
complete  arrangements,  even  to  starting  the  preliminary  paragraphs  in  the  Paris 
papers;  and  after  calling  on  the  Honorable  William  Rufus  King,  the  United 
States  Minister  at  the  Court  of  France,  who  assured  me  that,  after  my  success 
in  London,  there  would  be  no  difficulty  whatever  in  my  presentation  to  King 
Louis  Philippe,  I  returned  to  England. 

I  went  back  to  Paris  with  General  Tom  Thumb  and  party  some  time  before  1 
intended  to  begin  my  exhibitions,  and  on  the  very  day  after  my  arrival  I  received 
a  special  command  to  appear  at  the  Tuileries  on  the  following  Sunday  evening. 

At  the  appointed  hour  the  General  and  I,  arrayed  in  the  conventional  court 
costume,  were  ushered  into  a  grand  saloon  of  the  palace,  where  we  were  intro- 
duced to  the  King,  the  Queen,  Princess  Adelaide,  the  Duchess  d'Orleans  and  her 
son,  the  Count  de  Paris,  Prince  de  Joinville,  Duke  and  Duchess  de  Nemours,  the 
Duchess  d'Aumale,  and  a  dozen  or  more  distinguished  persons,  among  whom  was 
the  editor  of  the  official  Journal  des  Debate.  General  Tom  Thumb  went  through 
his  various  performances  to  the  manifest  pleasure  of  all  who  were  present,  and  at 
the  close  the  King  presented  to  him  a  large  emerald  brooch  set  with  diamonds. 
The  General  expressed  his  gratitude,  and  the  King,  turning  to  me,  said:  "You 
may  put  it  on  the  General,  if  you  please,"  which  I  did,  to  the  evident  gratifica- 
tion of  the  King  as  well  as  the  General. 

King  Louis  Philippe  was  so  condescending  and  courteous,  that  I  felt  quite  at 
home  in  the  royal  presence,  and  ventured  upon  a  bit  of  diplomacy.  The  Long- 
champs  celebration  was  coming — a  day  once  devoted  to  religious  ceremony,  but 
now  conspicuous  for  the  display  of  court  and  fashionable  equipages  in  the  Champs 
Elysees  and  the  Bois  des  Boulogne,  and,  as  the  King  was  familiarly  conversing 
with  me,  I  ventured  to  say  that  I  had  hurried  over  to  Paris  to  take  part  in  the 
Longchamps  display,  and  I  asked  him  if  the  General's  carriage  could  not  be  per- 
mitted to  appear  in  the  avenue  reserved  for  the  court  and  the  diplomatic  corps, 
representing  that  the  General's  small,  but  elegant  establishment,  with  ite  poniee 
and  little  coachman  and  footman,  would  be  in  danger  of  damage  in  the  general 
throng,  unless  the  special  privilege  I  asked  was  accorded. 

The  King  smilingly  turned  to  one  of  the  officers  of  his  household,  and,  after 
conversing  with  him  for  a  few  moments,  he  said  to  me  : 

80 


IK  FBANCB.  81 

"  Call  on  the  Prefect  of  Police  to-morrow  afternoon,  and  you  will  find  a  permit 
ready  for  you." 

Our  visit  occupied  two  hours,  and  when  we  went  away  the  General  was  loaded 
with  fine  presents.  The  next  morning  all  the  newspapers  noticed  the  visit,  and 
the  Journal  des  Debats,  gave  a  minute  account  of  the  interview  and  of  the  Gen- 
eral's performances,  taking  occasion  to  say,  in  speaking  of  the  character  parts, 
that  "there  was  one  costume  which  the  General  wisely  kept  at  the  bottom  of 
his  box"  That  costume,  however — the  uniform  of  Bonaparte — was  once  exhib- 
ited, by  particular  request,  as  will  be  seen  anon. 

Longchamps  day  arrived,  and  among  the  many  splendid  equipages  on  the  grand 
avenue,  none  attracted  more  attention  than  the  superb  little  carriage  with  four 
ponies  and  liveried  and  powdered  coachman  and  footman,  belonging  to  the  Gen- 
eral, and  conspicuous  in  the  line  of  carriages  containing  the  Ambassadors  to 
the  Court  of  France.  Thousands  upon  thousands  rent  the  air  with  cheers  for 
"General  Tom  Pouce."* 

Thus,  before  I  opened  the  exhibition,  all  Paris  knew  that  General  Tom  Thumb 
was  in  the  city.  The  elite  of  the  city  came  to  the  exhibition;  the  first  day's 
receipts  were  5,500  francs,  which  would  have  been  doubled  if  I  could  have  made 
room  for  more  patrons.  There  were  afternoon  and  evening  performances,  and 
from  that  day  secured  seats,  at  an  extra  price,  were  engaged  in  advance  for  the 
entire  two  months.  The  season  was  more  than  a  success;  it  was  a  triumph. 

It  seemed,  too,  as  if  the  whole  city  was  advertising  me.  The  papers  were 
profuse  in  their  praises  of  the  General  and  his  performances.  Figaro,  the  Punch 
of  Paris,  gave  a  picture  of  an  immense  mastiff  running  away  with  the  General's 
carriage  and  horses  in  his  mouth.  Statuettes  of  "Tom  Pouce"  appeared  in  all 
the  windows,  in  plaster,  Parian,  sugar  and  chocolate;  songs  were  written  about 
Him,  and  his  lithograph  was  seen  everywhere.  A  fine  cafe  on  one  of  the  boule- 
vards, took  the  name  of  "Tom  Pouce, "  and  displayed  over  the  door  a  life-size 
statue  of  the  General.  In  Paris,  as  in  London,  several  eminent  painters  expressed 
their  desire  to  paint  his  portrait,  but  the  General's  engagements  were  so  pressing 
that  he  found  little  time  to  sit  to  artists.  All  the  leading  actors  and  actresses 
came  to  the  General's  levees,  and  petted  him  and  made  him  many  presents. 
Meanwhile,  the  daily  receipts  continued  to  swell,  and  I  was  compelled  to  take  a 
cab  to  carry  my  bag  of  silver  home  at  night. 

We  were  commanded  to  appear  twice  more  at  the  Tuileries,  and  we  were  also 
invited  to  the  palace  on  the  King's  birthday,  to  witness  the  display  of  fireworks 
in  honor  of  the  anniversary.  Our  fourth  and  last  visit  to  the  royal  family  was,  by 
special  invitation,  at  St.  Cloud.  On  this  one  occasion,  and  by  the  special  request 
of  the  King,  the  General  personated  Napoleon  Bonaparte  in  full  costume.  Louis 
Philippe  had  heard  of  the  General  in  this  character,  and  particularly  desired  to 
see  him;  but  the  affair  was  quite  "on  the  sly,"  and  no  mention  was  made  of  it  in 
the  papers.  We  remained  an  hour,  and,  at  parting,  each  of  the  royal  company 
gave  the  General  a  splendid  present,  almost  smothered  him  with  kisses,  wished 
him  a  safe  journey  through  France,  and  a  long  and  happy  life.  After  bidding 
them  adieu,  we  retired  to  another  portion  of  the  palace  to  make  a  change  of  the 
General's  costume,  and  to  partake  of  some  refreshments  which  were  prepared  for 
us.  Half  an  hour  afterwards,  as  we  were  about  leaving  the  palace,  we  went 
through  a  hall  leading  to  the  front  door,  and  in  doing  so,  passed  the  sitting-room 
in  which  the  royal  family  were  spending  the  evening.  The  door  was  open,  and 

*  See  Illustration,  opposite. 


82  IN  FBANOB. 

some  of  them  happening  to  espy  the  General,  called  out  for  him  to  come  in 
and  shake  hands  with  them  once  more.  We  entered  the  apartment,  and  there 
found  the  ladies  sitting  around  a  square  table,  each  provided  with  two  candles,  and 
every  one  of  them,  including  the  Queen,  was  engaged  in  working  at  embroidery, 
while  a  young  lady  was  reading  aloud  for  their  edification.  I  am  sorry  to  say,  I 
believe  this  is  a  sight  seldom  seen  in  families  of  the  aristocracy  on  either  side  of 
the  water.  At  the  church  fairs  in  Paris,  I  had  frequently  seen  pieces  of  embroi 
dery  for  sale,  which  were  labelled  as  having  been  presented  and  worked  by  th« 
Duchess  d'Orleans,  Princess  Adelaide,  Duchess  de  Nemours,  and  other  titled 
ladies. 

During  my  stay  in  Paris,  a  Russian  Prince,  who  had  been  living  in  great 
splendor  in  that  city,  suddenly  died,  and  his  household  and  personal  effects  were 
sold  at  auction.  I  attended  the  sale  for  several  days  in  succession,  buying  many 
articles  of  vertu,  and,  among  others,  a  magnificent  gold  tea-set,  and  a  silver  din- 
ing-service,  and  many  rare  specimens  of  Sevres  china.  These  articles  bore  the 
initials  of  the  family  name  of  the  Prince,  and  his  own,  "P.  T."  thus  damaging 
the  articles,  so  that  the  silver  and  gold  were  sold  for  their  weight  value  only.  I 
bought  them,  and  adding  " B."  to  the  "P.  T.,"  had  a  very  fine  table  service,  still 
in  my  possession,  and  bearing  my  own  initials,  "P.  T.  B." 

After  a  protracted  and  most  profitable  season  we  started  on  a  tour  through 
France.  We  went  first  to  Rouen,  and  from  thence  to  Toulon,  visiting  all  the 
intermediate  towns,  including  Orleans,  Nantes,  Brest,  Bordeaux,  where  I  wit- 
nessed a  review  by  the  Dukes  de  Nemours  and  d'Aumale,  of  20,000  soldiers  who 
were  encamped  near  the  city.  From  Bordeaux  we  went  to  Toulouse,  Montpellier, 
Nismes,  Marseilles,  and  many  other  less  important  places,  holding  levees  for  a 
longer  or  shorter  time.  While  at  Nantes,  Bordeaux  and  Marseilles,  tho  General 
also  appeared  in  the  theaters  in  his  French  part  of  "  Petit  Poucet,"  a  French  play 
written  expressly  for  him  in  Paris,  and  performed  with  great  eclat  in  the  theater 
Vaudeville  in  that  city. 


OHAPTEK    XIIL 

IN  BELGIUM. 

In  crossing  the  border  from  France  into  Belgium,  Professor  Piute,  our  inter- 
preter and  General  Tom  Thumb's  preceptor,  discovered  that  he  had  left  his  pass- 
port behind  Him — at  Lille,  at  Marseilles,  or  elsewhere  in  France,  he  could  not  tell 
where,  for  it  was  a  long  time  since  he  had  been  called  upon  to  present  it. 

When  we  came  to  Courtrai  on  the  Belgian  frontier,  I  managed  to  procure  a 
permit  for  him  which  enabled  him  to  proceed  with  the  party. 

Brussels  is  Paris  in  miniature  and  is  one  of  the  most  charming  cities  I  ever 
visited.  We  found  elegant  quarters,  and  the  day  after  our  arrival  by  command 
we  visited  King  Leopold  and  the  Queen  at  their  palace.  The  King  and  Queen 
had  already  seen  the  General  in  London,  but  they  wished  to  present  him  to  their 
children  and  to  the  distinguished  persons  whom  we  found  assembled.  After  a 
most  agreeable  hour  we  came  away,  the  General,  as  usual,  receiving  many  fine 
presents. 

The  following  day  I  opened  the  exhibition  in  a  beautiful  hall,  which  on  that 
day  and  on  every  afternoon  and  evening  while  we  remained  there,  was  crowded 
by  throngs  of  the  first  people  in  the  city.  On  the  second  or  third  day,  in  the 
midst  of  the  exhibition,  I  suddenly  missed  the  case  containing  the  valuable  pres- 
ents the  General  had  received  from  kings,  queens,  noblemen  and  gentlemen,  and 
instantly  gave  the  alarm;  some  thief  had  intruded  for  the  express  purpose  of 
stealing  these  jewels,  and,  in  the  crowd,  had  been  entirely  successful  in  his 
object. 

The  police  were  notified,  and  I  offered  2,000  francs  reward  for  the  recovery  of 
the  property.  A  day  or  two  afterwards  a  man  went  into  a  jeweller's  shop  and 
offered  for  sale,  among  other  things,  a  gold  snuff-box,  mounted  with  turquoises, 
and  presented  by  the  Duke  of  Devonshire  to  the  General  The  jeweller,  seeing 
the  General's  initials  on  the  box,  sharply  questioned  the  man,  who  became 
alarmed  and  ran  out  of  the  shop.  An  alarm  was  raised,  and  the  man  was  caught. 
He  made  a  clean  breast  of  it,  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  hours  the  entire  property 
was  returned,  to  the  great  delight  of  the  General  and  myself.  Wherever  we  ex- 
hibited afterwards,  no  matter  how  respectable  the  audience,  the  case  of  presents 
was  always  carefully  watched. 

While  I  was  in  Brussels  I  could  do  no  less  than  visit  the  battle-field  of  Waterloo, 
and  I  proposed  that  our  party  should  be  composed  of  Professor  Pinte,  Mr,  Strat- 
ton,  father  of  General  Tom  Thumb,  Mr.  II.  G.  Sherman  and  myself. 

We  engaged  a  coach  and  horses  the  night  previous,  and  started  punctually  at 
the  hour  appointed.  We  stopped  at  the  neat  little  church  in  the  village  of  Wa- 
terloo, for  the  purpose  of  examining  the  tablets  erected  to  the  memory  of  some 
of  the  English  who  fell  in  the  contest.  Thence  we  passed  to  the  house  in  which 
the  leg  of  Lord  Uxbridge  (Marquis  of  Anglesey)  was  amputated.  A  neat  little 
monument  in  the  garden  designates  the  spot  where  the  shattered  member  had 
been  interred.  In  the  house  is  shown  a  part  of  the  boot  which  is  said  to  have 
once  covered  the  unlucky  lep  T  expressed  a  derire  to  have  a  small  piece  of  the 

S3 


84  IN  BELGIUM. 

boot  to  exhibit  in  my  Museum;  the  lady  cut  off,  without  hesitation,  a  slip  three 
inches  long  by  one  in  width.  I  could  not  help  thinking  that  if  the  lady  was  thus 
liberal  in  dispensing  pieces  of  the  "  identical  boot "  to  all  visitors,  this  must  have 
been  about  the  ninety-nine  thousandth  boot  that  had  been  cut  as  the  "Simon 
pure  "  since  1815. 

Arriving  at  Mont  Saint  Jean,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  ground,  we  were 
beset  by  some  eighteen  or  twenty  persons,  who  offered  their  services  as  guides, 
to  indicate  the  most  important  localities.  Each  applicant  professed  to  know  the 
exact  spot  where  every  man  had  been  placed  who  had  taken  part  in  the  battle, 
and  each,  of  course,  claimed  to  have  been  engaged  in  that  sanguinary  contest, 
although  it  had  occurred  thirty  years  before,  and  some  of  these  fellows  were 
only,  it  seemed,  from  twenty-five  to  twenty-eight  years  of  age  !  We  accepted 
an  old  man,  who,  at  first  declared  that  he  was  killed  in  the  battle,  but,  perceiving 
our  looks  of  incredulity,  consented  to  modify  his  statement  so  far  as  to  assert 
that  he  was  horribly  wounded,  and  lay  upon  the  ground  three  days  before  receiv- 
ing assistance. 

Once  upon  the  ground,  our  guide,  with  much  gravity,  pointed  out  the  place 
where  the  Duke  of  Wellington  took  his  station  during  a  great  part  of  the  action; 
the  locality  where  the  reserve  of  the  British  army  was  stationed;  the  spot  where 
Napoleon  placed  his  favorite  guard;  the  little  mound  on  which  was  erected  a  tem- 
porary observatory  for  his  use  during  the  battle ;  the  portion  of  the  field  at  which 
Blucher  entered  with  the  Prussian  army;  the  precise  location  of  the  Scotch 
Greys;  the  spot  where  fell  Sir  Alexander  Gordon,  Lieut.  CoL  Canning,  and  many 
others  of  celebrity.  I  asked  him  if  he  could  tell  me  where  Captain  Tippitiwichet, 
of  the  Connecticut  Fusileers,  was  killed.  "Oui,  Monsieur,"  he  replied,  with  per- 
fect confidence,  for  he  felt  bound  to  know,  or  to  pretend  to  know,  every  particu- 
lar. He  then  proceeded  to  point  out  exactly  the  spot  where  my  unfortunate 
Connecticut  friend  had  breathed  his  last.  After  indicating  the  locations  where 
some  twenty  more  fictitious  friends  from  Coney  Island,  New  Jersey,  Cape  Cod  and 
Saratoga  Springs,  had  given  up  the  ghost,  we  handed  him  his  commission  and 
declined  to  give  him  further  trouble. 

Upon  quitting  the  battle-field  we  were  accosted  by  a  dozen  persons  of  both  sexes 
with  baskets  on  their  arms  or  bags  in  their  hands,  containing  relics  of  the  battle 
for  sale.  These  consisted  of  a  great  variety  of  implements  of  war,  pistols,  bul- 
lets, etc.,  besides  brass  French  eagles,  buttons,  etc.  I  purchased  a  number  of  them 
for  the  Museum,  and  Stratton  was  equally  liberal  in  obtaining  a  supply  for  his 
friends  in  "  Old  Bridgeport."  We  also  purchased  maps  of  the  battle-ground,  pic 
tures  of  the  triumphal  mound  surmounted  by  the  colossal  Belgic  Lion  in  bronze, 
etc.,  etc.  These  frequent  and  renewed  taxations  annoyed  Stratton  very  much, 
and,  as  he  handed  out  a  five  franc  piece  -for  a  ' '  complete  guide-book, "  he  remarked, 
that  "  he  guessed  the  battle  of  Waterloo  had  cost  a  darned  sight  more  since  it 
was  fought  than  it  did  before  ! " 

But  his  misfortunes  did  not  terminate  here.  When  we  had  proceeded  four  or 
rtve  miles  upon  our  road  home,  crash  went  the  carriage.  We  alighted,  and  found 
that  the  axle-tree  was  broken.  It  was  now  a  quarter  past  one  o'clock.  The  little 
General's  exhibition  was  advertised  to  commence  in  Brussels  at  two  o'clock,  and 
could  not  take  place  without  us.  We  were  unable  to  walk  the  distance  in  double 
the  time  at  our  disposal,  and,  as  no  carriage  was  to  be  got  in  that  part  of  the 
country,  I  concluded  to  take  the  matter  easy,  and  forego  all  idea  of  exhibiting 
before  evening.  Stratton,  however,  could  not  bear  tLv  thought  of  losing  the 
chance  of  taking  in  six  or  eight  hundred  francs,  and  he  determined  to  take  mat- 


IK  BELGIUM.  85 

ters  in  band,  in  order,  if  possible,  to  get  our  party  into  Brussels  in  time  to  save 
the  afternoon  exhibition.  He  hastened  to  a  farm-house,  accompanied  by  the  in- 
terpreter, Professor  Pinte,  Sherman  and  myself  leisurely  .bringing  up  the  rear. 
Stratton  asked  the  old  farmer  if  he  had  a  carriage.  He  had  not.  "  Have  you  no 
vehicle  ? "  he  inquired. 

'  'Yes,  I  have  that  vehicle, "  he  replied,  pointing  to  an  old  cart  filled  with  manure, 
and  standing  in  his  barnyard.* 

"  Thunder  !  is  that  all  the  conveyance  you  have  got  ?"  asked  Stratton,  Being 
assured  that  it  was,  Stratton  concluded  that  it  was  better  to  ride  in  a  manure-cart 
than  not  to  get  to  Brussels  in  time. 

"  What  will  you  ask  to  drive  us  to  Brussels  in  three-quarters  of  an  hour  ? "  de- 
manded Stratton. 

"  It  is  impossible,"  replied  the  farmer;  "  I  should  want  two  hours  for  my  horse 
to  do  it  in." 

"  But  ours  is  a  very  pressing  case,  and  if  we  are  not  there  in  time  we  lose  more 
than  five  hundred  francs,"  said  Stratton. 

The  old  farmer  pricked  up  his  ears  at  this,  and  agreed  to  get  us  to  Brussels  in  an 
hour,  for  eighty  francs.  Stratton  tried  to  beat  him  down,  but  it  was  of  no  use. 

"  Oh,  go  it,  Stratton,"  said  Sherman;  "eighty  francs  you  know  is  only  sixteen 
dollars,  and  you  will  probably  save  a  hundred  by  it,  for  I  expect  a  full  house  at 
our  afternoon  exhibition  to-day." 

"  But  I  have  already  spent  about  ten  dollars  for  nonsense,"  said  Stratton,  "  and 
we  shall  have  to  pay  for  the  broken  carriage  besides." 

"But  what  can  you  do  better?"  chimed  in  Professor  Pinte. 

"It  is  an  outrageous  extortion  to  charge  sixteen  dollars  for  an  old  horse  and 
cart  to  go  ten  miles.  Why,  in  old  Bridgeport  I  could  get  it  done  for  three  dollars, " 
replied  Stratton,  in  a  tone  of  vexation. 

"  It  is  the  custom  of  the  country,"  said  Professor  Pinbe,  "  and  we  must  submit 
to  it." 

"Well,  it's  a  thundering  mean  custom,  any  how,"  said  Stratton,  "and  I  won't 
stand  such  imposition." 

"But  what  shall  we  do?"  earnestly  inquired  Mr.  Pinte.  "It  may  be  a  high 
price,  but  it  is  better  to  pay  that  than  to  lose  our  afternoon  performance  and  five 
or  six  hundred  francs." 

This  appeal  to  the  pocket  touched  Stratton's  feelings;  so,  submitting  to  the  extor- 
tion, he  replied  to  our  interpreter,  "  Well,  tell  the  old  robber  to  dump  his  dung- 
cart  as  soon  as  possible,  or  we  shall  lose  half  an  hour  in  starting." 

The  cart  was  "  dumped"  and  a  large,  lazy-looking  Flemish  horse  was  attached 
to  it  with  a  rope  harness.  Some  boards  were  laid  across  the  cart  for  seats,  the 
party  tumbled  into  the  rustic  vehicle,  a  red-haired  boy,  son  of  the  old  farmer, 
mounted  the  horse,  and  Stratton  gave  orders  to  "  get  along."  "  Wait  a  moment,' 
said  the  farmer,  "  you  have  not  paid  me  yet."  "  I'll  pay  your  boy  when  we  get  to 
Brussels,  provided  he  gets  there  within  the  hour,"  replied  Stratton. 

"  Oh,  he  is  sure  to  get  there  in  an  hour,"  said  the  farmer,  "  but  I  can't  let  him 
go  unless  you  pay  in  advance."  The  minutes  were  flying  rapidly,  the  anticipated 
loss  of  the  day  exhibition  of  General  Tom  Thumb  flitted  before  his  eyes,  and 
Stratton,  in  very  desperation,  thrust  his  hand  into  his  pocket  and  drew  forth 
sixteen  five-franc  pieces,  which  he  dropped,  one  at  a  time,  into  the  hand  of  the 
farmer,  and  then  called  out  to  the  boy,  "There  now,  do  try  to  see  if  you  can  go 
ahead." 

*  See  Illustration,  opposite. 


86  TX    BELGIUM. 

The  boy  did  go  ahead,  but  it  was  with  each  a  snail's  pace  that  it  would  have 
puzzled  a  man  of  tolerable  eyesight  to  have  determined  whether  the  horse  was 
moving  or  standing  stilL  To  make  it  still  more  interesting,  it  commenced  raining 
furiously.  As  we  had  left  Brussels  in  a  coach,  and  the  morning  bad  promised  us 
a  pleasant  day,  we  had  omitted  our  umbrellas.  We  were  soon  soaked  to  the  skin. 
We  "grinned  and  bore  it"  awhile  without  grumbling.  At  length  Stratton,  who 
was  almost  too  angry  to  speak,  desired  Mr.  Pinte  to  ask  the  red-haired  boy  if  he 
expected  to  walk  his  horse  all  the  way  to  Brussels. 

"Certainly,"  replied  the  boy;  "he  is  too  big  and  fat  to  do  anything  but  walk. 
We  never  trot  him." 

Stratton  was  terrified  as  he  thought  of  the  loss  of  the  day  exhibition;  and  he 
cursed  the  boy,  the  cart,  the  rain,  the  luck,  and  even  the  battle  of  Waterloo  itself. 
But  it  was  all  of  no  use,  the  horse  would  not  run,  but  the  rain  did — down  our 
backs. 

At  two  o'clock,  the  time  appointed  for  our  exhibition,  we  were  yet  some  seven 
miles  from  Brussels.  The  horse  walked  slowly  and  philosophically  through  the 
pitiless  storm,  the  steam  majestically  rising  from  the  old  manure-cart,  to  the  no 
small  disturbance  of  our  unfortunate  olfactories.  "  It  will  take  two  hours  to  get 
to  Brussels  at  this  rate,"  growled  Stratton.  "  Oh,  no,"  replied  the  boy,  "  it  will 
Duly  take  about  two  hours  from  the  time  we  started  " 

"  But  your  father  agreed  to  g«t  us  there  in  an  hour,"  answered  Stratton. 

" I  know  it,"  responded  the  boy,  " but  he  knew  it  would  take  more  than  two." 

" I'll  sue  him  for  damage,  by  thunder! "  said  Stratton. 

"Oh,  there  would  be  no  use  in  that,"  chimed  in  Mr.  Pinte,  "for  you  could  get 
no  satisfaction  in  this  country." 

"But  I  shall  lose  more  than  a  hundred  dollars  by  being  two  hours  instead  of 
one,"  said  Stratton. 

"They  care  nothing  about  that;  all  they  care  for  is  your  eighty  francs," 
remarked  Pinte. 

"But  they  have  lied  and  swindled  me,"  replied  Stratton. 

"Oh,  you  must  not  mind  that,  it  is  the  custom  of  the  country." 

All  things  will  finally  have  an  end,  and  our  party  did  at  length  actually  arrive 
in  Brussels,  cart  and  all,  in  precisely  two  hours  and  a  half  from  the  time  we  left 
the  farmer's  house.  Of  course  we  were  too  late  to  exhibit  the  little  General. 
Hundreds  of  visitors  had  gone  away  disappointed. 

Several  months  subsequent  to  our  visit  to  Waterloo,  I  was  in  Birmingham,  and 
there  made  the  acquaintance  of  a  firm  who  manufactured  to  order,  and  sent  to 
Waterloo,  barrels  of  "relics"  every  year.  At  Waterloo  these  "relics"  are 
planted,  and  in  due  time  dug  up,  and  sold  at  large  prices  as  precious  remem- 
brances of  the  great  battle.  Our  Waterloo  pin-chases  looked  rather  cheap  after 
this  discovery. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

IN   ENGLAND  AGAIN. 

IN  London  the  General  again  opened  his  levees  in  Egytian  Hall  with  increased 
success.  His  unbounded  popularity  on  the  Continent,  and  his  receptions  by  King 
Louis  Philippe,  of  France,  and  King  Leopold,  of  Belgium,  had  added  greatly  to 
his  prestige  and  fame.  Those  who  had  seen  him  when  he  was  in  London  months 
before,  came  to  see  him  again,  and  new  visitors  crowded  by  thousands  to  the 
General's  levees. 

Besides  giving  these  daily  entertainments,  the  General  appeared  occasionally 
for  an  hour,  during  the  intermissions,  at  some  place  in  the  suburbs;  and  for  a 
long  time  he  appeared  every  day  at  the  Surrey  Zoological  Gardens,  under  the 
direction  of  the  proprietor,  my  particular  friend,  Mr.  W.  Tyler.  This  place 
subsequently  became  celebrated  for  its  great  music  hall,  in  which  Spurgeon,  the 
sensational  preacher,  first  attained  his  notoriety.  The  place  was  always  crowded, 
and  when  the  General  had  gone  through  with  his  performances  on  the  little  stage, 
in  order  that  all  might  see  him,  he  was  put  into  a  balloon,  which,  secured  by 
ropes,  was  then  passed  around  the  ground,  just  above  the  people's  heads.  Some 
forty  men  managed  the  ropes  and  prevented  the  balloon  from  rising ;  but, '  one 
day,  a  sudden  gust  of  wind  took  the  balloon  fairly  out  of  the  hands  of  half  the 
men  who  had  hold  of  the  ropes,  while  others  were  lifted  from  the  ground,  and 
had  not  an  alarm  been  instantly  given,  which  called  at  least  two  hundred  to  the 
rescue,  the  little  General  would  have  been  lost. 

In  October,  1844,  I  made  my  first  return  visit  to  the  United  States,  leaving 
General  Tom  Thumb  in  England,  in  the  hands  of  an  accomplished  and  faithful 
agent.  One  of  the  principal  reasons  for  my  return  at  this  time,  was  my  anxiety 
to  renew  the  Museum  building  lease,  although  my  first  lease  of  five  years  had 
still  three  years  longer  to  run. 

Having  completed  my  business  arrangements  in  New  York,  I  returned  to  Eng- 
land with  my  wife  and  daughters,  and  hired  a  house  in  London.  My  house  was 
the  scene  of  constant  hospitality,  which  I  extended  to  my  numerous  friends  in 
return  for  the  many  attentions  shown  to  me.  It  seemed  then  as  if  I  had  more  and 
stronger  friends  in  London  than  in  New  York.  I  had  met  and  had  been  introduced 
to  "almost  everybody  who  was  anybody,"  and  among  them  all,  some  of  the 
best  soon  became  to  me  much  more  than  mere  acquaintances. 

Among  the  distinguished  people  whom  I  met,  I  was  introduced  to  the  poet- 
banker,  Samuel  Rogers.  I  saw  him  at  a  dinner  party  at  the  residence  of  the 
American  Minister,  the  Honorable  Edward  Everett.  As  we  were  going  in  to 
dinner,  I  stepped  aside,  so  that  Mr.  Rogers  who  was  tottering  along  leaning  on 
the  arm  of  a  friend,  could  go  in  before  me,  when  Mr.  Rogers  said: 

"Pass  in,  Mr.  Barnum,  pass  in;  I  always  consider  it  an  honor  to  follow  au 
American." 

When  our  three  months'  engagement  at  Egytian  Hall  had  expired,  I  arranged 
for  a  protracted  provincial  tour  through  Great  Britain.  I  had  made  a  flying 
•digit  to  Scotland  before  we  went  to  Paris — mainly  to  procure  the  beautiful  Scotch 

87 


88  IN  ENGLAND  AGAIN. 

costumes,  daggers,  etc.,  which  \rere  carefully  made  for  the  General  at  Edinburgh, 
and  to  teach  the  General  the  Scotch  dances,  with  a  bit  of  the  Scotch  dialect, 
which  added  so  much  to  the  interest  of  his  exhibitions  in  Paris  and  elsewhere. 
My  second  visit  to  Scotland,  for  the  purpose  of  giving  exhibitions,  extended  as 
far  as  Aberdeen. 

In  England  we  went  to  Manchester,  Birmingham,  and  to  almost  every  city,  town 
and  even  village  of  importance.  We  traveled  by  post  much  of  the  time — that  is,  I 
had  a  suitable  carriage  made  for  my  party,  and  a  van  which  conveyed  the  Gen- 
eral's carriage,  ponies,  and  such  other  "property"  as  was  needed  for  our  levees. 
This  mode  of  traveling  was  not  only  very  comfortable  and  independent,  but  it 
enabled  us  to  visit  many  out  of  the  way  places,  off  from  the  great  lines  of  travel, 
and  in  such  places  we  gave  some  of  our  most  successful  exhibitions.  We  also 
used  the  railway  lines  freely,  leaving  our  carriages  at  any  station,  and  taking 
them  up  again  when  we  returned. 

I  remember  once  making  an  extraordinary  effort  to  reach  a  branch-line  station, 
where  I  meant  to  leave  my  teams  and  take  the  rail  for  Rugby.  I  had  a  time- 
table, and  knew  at  what  hour  exactly  I  could  hit  the  train;  but  unfortunately  the 
axle  to  my  carriage  broke,  and,  as  an  hour  was  lost  in  repairing  it,  I  lost  exactly 
an  hour  in  reaching  the  station.  The  train  had  long  been  gone,  and  I  must  be  in 
Rugby,  where  we  had  advertised  a  performance.  I  stormed  around  till  I  found 
the  superintendent,  and  told  him  "I  must  instantly  have  an  extra  train  to 
Rugby." 

"Extra  train?"  said  he,  with  surprise  and  a  hall  sneer,  "extra  train?"  why 
you  can't  have  an  extra  train  to  Rugby  for  less  than  sixty  pounds." 

"Is  that  all?"  I  asked;  "well,  get  up  your  train  immediately  and  here  are 
your  sixty  pounds.  What  in  the  world  are  sixty  pounds  to  me,  when  I  wish  to 
go  to  Rugby,  or  elsewhere,  in  a  hurry  1 " 

The  astonished  superintendent  took  the  money,  bustled  about,  and  the  train 
was  soon  ready.  He  was  greatly  puzzled  to  know  what  distinguished  person — 
he  thought  he  must  be  dealing  with  some  prince,  or,  at  least,  a  duke — was  willing 
to  give  so  much  money  to  save  a  few  hours  of  time,  and  he  hesitatingly  asked 
whom  he  had  the  honor  of  serving. 

"General  Tom  Thumb." 

We  reached  Rugby  in  time  to  give  our  performance,  as  announced,  and  our 
receipts  were  £160,  which  quite  covered  the  expense  of  our  extra  train  and  left  a 
handsome  margin  for  profit. 

When  we  were  in  Oxford,  a  dozen  or  more  of  the  students  came  to  the  conclu- 
sion that,  as  the  General  was  a  little  fellow,  the  admission  fee  to  his  entertainments 
should  be  paid  in  the  smallest  kind  of  money.  They  accordingly  provided  them- 
selves with  farthings,  and  as  each  man  entered,  instead  of  handing  in  a  shilling 
for  his  ticket,  he  laid  down  forty-eight  farthings.  The  counting  of  these  small 
coins  was  a  great  annoyance  to  Mr.  Stratton,  the  General's  father,  who  was 
ticket-seller,  and  after  counting  two  or  three  handfuls,  vexed  at  the  delay  which 
was  preventing  a  crowd  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  from  buying  tickets,  Mr.  Strat- 
ton lost  his  temper  and  cried  out: 

"Blast  your  quarter-pennies!  I  am  not  going  to  count  them!  you  chaps  who 
haven't  bigger  money  can  chuck  your  copper  into  my  hat  and  walk  in," 

Mr.  Stratton  was  a  genuine  Yankee,  and  thoroughly  conversant  with  the 
Yankee  vernacular,  which  he  used  freely.  In  exhibiting  the  General,  I  often 
said  to  visitors,  that  Tom  Thumb's  parents,  and  the  rest  of  the  family,  were 
persons  of  the  ordinary  size,  and  that  the  gentleman  who  presided  in  the  ticket- 


PUT  ME  IN  IRONS. 


See  page     93. 


IN   ENGLAND   AGAIN. 

office  was  the  General's  father.  This  made  poor  Stratton  an  object  of  no  little 
curiosity,  and  he  was  pestered  with  all  sorts  of  questions;  on  one  occasion  an  old 
dowager  said  to  him: 

"Are  you  really  the  father  of  General  Tom  Thumb?" 

"  Wa'al,"  replied  Stratton,  " I  have  to  support  him! " 

This  evasive  answer  is  common  enough  in  New  England,  but  the  literal  dowa- 
ger had  her  doubts,  and  promptly  rejoined: 

"  I  rather  think  he  supports  youl " 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  during  my  protracted  stay  abroad  I  confined 
myself  wholly  to  business,  or  limited  my  circle  of  observation  with  a  golden  rim. 
To  bo  sure,  I  ever  had  "  an  eye  to  business,"  but  I  had  also  two  eyes  for  observa- 
tion, and  these  were  busily  employed  in  leisure  hours.  I  made  the  most  of  my 
opportunities  and  saw,  hurriedly,  it  is  true,  nearly  everything  worth  seeing  in 
the  various  places  which  I  visited.  All  Europe  was  a  great  curiosity  shop  to  me, 
and  I  willingly  paid  my  money  for  the  show. 

While  in  London,  my  friend  Albert  Smith,  a  jolly  companion,  as  well  as  a 
witty  and  sensible  author,  promised  that  when  I  reached  Birmingham  he  would 
come  and  spend  a  day  with  me  in  "sight-seeing,"  including  a  visit  to  the  house 
in  which  Shakespeare  was  born. 

Early  one  morning  in  the  autumn  of  1844,  my  friend  Smith  and  myself  took 
the  box-seat  of  an  English  mail-coach,  and  were  soon  whirling  at  the  rate  of 
twelve  miles  an  hour  over  the  magnificent  road  leading  from  Birmingham  to 
Stratford.  The  distance  is  thirty  miles.  At  a  little  village  four  miles  from 
Stratford,  we  found  that  the  fame  of  the  bard  of  Avon,  had  traveled  thus  far, 
for  we  noticed  a  sign  over  a  miserable  barber's  shop,  "  Shakespeare  hair-dressing 
— a  good  shave  for  a  penny."  In  twenty  minutes  more  we  were  set  down  at  the 
door  of  the  Red  Horse  Hotel,  in  Stratford.  The  coachman  and  guard  were  each 
paid  half  a  crown  as  their  perquisites. 

While  breakfast  was  preparing,  we  called  for  a  guide-book  to  the  town,  and  the 
waiter  brought  in  a  book,  saying  that  we  should  find  in  it  the  best  description 
extant  of  the  birth  and  burial  place  of  Shakespeare.  I  was  not  a  little  proud  to  find 
this  volume  to  be  no  other  than  the  "Sketch-Book"  of  our  illustrious  country- 
man, Washington  Irving;  and,  in  glancing  over  his  humorous  description  of  the 
place,  I  discovered  that  he  had  stopped  at  the  same  hotel  where  we  were  then 
awaiting  breakfast. 

After  examining  the  Shakespeare  House,  as  well  as  the  tomb  and  the  church  in 
which  all  that  is  mortal  of  the  great  poet  rests,  we  ordered  a  post-chaise  for 
Warwick  Castle.  While  the  horses  were  harnessing,  a  stage-coach  stopped  at  the 
hotel,  and  two  gentlemen  alighted.  One  was  a  sedate,  sensible-looking  man;  the 
other  an  addle-headed  fop.  The  former  was  mild  and  unassuming  in  his  man- 
ners; the  latter  was  all  talk,  without  sense  or  meaning — in  fact,  a  regular  Charles 
Chatterbox.  He  evidently  had  a  high  opinion  of  himself,  and  was  determined 
that  all  within  hearing  should  understand  that  he  was — somebody.  Presently  the 
sedate  gentleman  said: 

"Edward,  this  is  Stratford.  Let  us  go  and  see  the  house  where  Shakespeare 
was  born." 

"Who  the  devil  is  Shakespeare?"  asked  the  sensible  young  gentleman. 

Our  post-chaise  was  at  the  door;  we  leaped  into  it,  and  were  off,  leaving  the 
"  nice  young  man  "  to  enjoy  a  visit  to  the  birth-place  of  an  individual  of  whom 
he  had  never  before  heard.  The  distance  to  Warwick  Is  fourteen  miles.  We 
went  to  the  Castle,  and,  approaching  the  door  of  the  Great  Hall,  were  informed 


90  US'   ENGLAND   AGAIN. 

by  a  well-dressed  porter  that  the  Earl  of  Warwick  and  family  were  absent,  and 
that  he  was  permitted  to  show  the  apartments  to  visitors.  He  introduced  us  suc- 
cessively into  "The  Bed  Drawing-Room,"  "The  Cedar  Drawing-Room,"  "The 
Gilt  Room,"  "The  State  Bed-Room"  " Lady  Warwick's  Boudoir,"  "The  Com- 
pass Room,"  "The  Chapel,"  and  "  The  Great  Dining-Room."  As  we  passed  out 
of  the  Castle,  the  polite  porter  touched  his  head  (he  of  course  had  no  hat  on  it) 
in  a  style  which  spoke  plainer  than  words,  "  Half  a  crown  each,  if  you  please, 
gentlemen."  We  responded  to  the  call,  and  were  then  placed  in  charge  of 
another  guide,  who  took  us  to  the  top  of  "Guy's  Tower,"  at  the  bottom  of  which 
he  touched  his  hat  a  shilling's  worth;  and  placing  ourselves  in  charge  of  a  third 
conductor,  an  old  man  of  seventy,  we  proceeded  to  the  Greenhouse  to  see  the 
Warwick  Vase — each  guide  announcing  at  the  end  of  his  short  tour :  ' '  Gentlemen,  I 
go  no  farther,"  and  indicating  that  the  bill  for  his  services  was  to  be  paid.  The 
old  gentleman  mounted  a  rostrum  at  the  side  of  the  vase,  and  commenced  a  set 
speech,  which  we  began  to  fear  was  interminable;  so,  tossing  him  the  usual  fee, 
we  left  him  in  the  middle  of  his  oration. 

Passing  through  the  porter's  lodge  on  our  way  out,  under  the  impression  that 
we  had  seen  all  that  was  interesting,  the  old  porter  informed  us  that  the  most 
curious  things  connected  with  the  Castle  were  to  be  seen  in  his  lodge.  Feeling 
for  our  coin,  we  bade  him  produce  his  relics,  and  he  showed  us  a  lot  of  trumpery, 
which  he  gravely  informed  us,  belonged  to  that  hero  of  antiquity,  Guy,  Earl  of 
Warwick.  Among  these  were  his  sword,  shield,  helmet,  breast-piate,  walking- 
staff,  and  tilting-pole,  each  of  enormous  size — the  horse  armor,  neariy  large 
enough  for  an  elephant,  a  large  pot  which  would  hold  seventy  gallons,  called 
"Guy's  Porridge  Pot,"  his  flesh-fork,  the  size  of  a  farmer's  hay-fork,  his  lady's 
stirrups,  the  rib  of  a  mastodon,  which  the  porter  pretended  belonged  to  the  great 
"Dun  Cow,"  which,  according  to  tradition,  haunted  a  ditch  near  Coventry,  and, 
after  doing  injury  to  many  persons,  was  slain  by  the  valiant  Guy.  The  sword 
weighed  nearly  100  pounds,  and  the  armor  200  pounds. 

I  told  the  old  porter  he  was  entitled  to  great  credit  for  having  concentrated 
more  lies  than  I  had  ever  before  heard  in  so  small  a  compass.  He  smiled,  and 
evidently  felt  gratified  by  the  compliment. 

"  I  suppose,"  I  continued,  "  that  you  have  told  these  marvelous  stories  so  often 
that  you  believe  them  yourself? " 

"Almost!"  replied  the  porter,  with  a  grin  of  satisfaction  that  showed  he  was 
"  up  to  snuff,"  and  had  really  earned  two  shillings. 

"  Come  now,  old  fellow,"  said  I,  "  what  will  you  take  for  the  entire  lot  of  those 
traps?  I  want  them  for  my  Museum  in  America." 

"  No  money  would  buy  these  valuable  historical  mementoes  of  a  by-gone  age," 
replied  the  old  porter,  with  a  leer. 

"Never  mind,"  I  exclaimed,  'Til  have  them  duplicated  for  my  Museum,  so 
that  Americans  can  see  them  and  avoid  the  necessity  of  coming  here,  and  in  that 
way  I'll  burst  up  your  show." 

Albert  Smith  laughed  immoderately  at  the  astonishment  of  the  porter  when 
1  made  this  threat,  and  I  was  greatly  amused  some  years  afterwards,  when 
Albert  Smith  became  a  successful  showman  and  was  exhibiting  his  ' '  Mont  Blanc  " 
to  delighted  audiences  in  London,  to  discover  that  he  had  introduced  this  very 
incident  into  bis  lecture,  of  course,  changing  the  names  and  locality.  He  often 
confessed  that  he  derived  his  very  first  idea  of  becoming  a  showman  from  my 
talk  about  the  business  and  my  doings,  on  this  charming  day  when  we  visited 
Warwick. 


IN   ENGLAND  AGAIN.  91 

We  returned  to  the  hotel,  took  a  post-chaise,  and  drove  through  decidedly  the 
most  lovely  country  I  ever  beheld.  Since  taking  that  tour,  I  have  heard  that 
two  gentlemen  once  made  a  bet,  each  that  he  could  name  the  most  delightful  drive 
in  England.  Many  persons  were  present,  and  each  gentleman  wrote  on  a  separate 
slip  of  paper  the  scene  which  he  most  admired.  One  gentleman  wrote,  "The 
road  from  Warwick  to  Coventry;"  the  other  had  written,  "The  road  from 
Coventry  to  Warwick." 

In  less  than  an  hour  we  were  set  down  at  the  outer  walls  of  Kenilworth  Castle. 
This  once  noble  and  magnificent  castle  is  now  a  stupendous  ruin,  which  has  been 
so  often  described  that  I  think  it  unnecessary  to  say  anything  about  it  here.  We 
spent  half  an  hour  in  examining  the  interesting  ruins,  and  then  proceeded  by 
post-chaise  to  Coventry,  a  distance  of  six  or  eight  miles.  Here  we  visited  St. 
Mary's  Hall,  which  has  attracted  the  notice  of  many  antiquaries.  We  also  took 
our  own  "peep  "  at  the  effigy  of  the  celebrated  "  Peeping  Tom,"  after  which  we 
visited  an  exhibition  called  the  "  Happy  Family,"  consisting  of  about  two  hun- 
dred birds  and  animals  of  opposite  natures  and  propensities,  all  li ving  in  harmony 
together  in  one  cage.  This  exhibition  was  so  remarkable  that  I  bought  it  and 
hired  the  proprietor  to  accompany  it  to  New  York,  and  it  became  an  attractive 
feature  in  my  Museum. 

We  took  the  cars  the  same  evening  for  Birmingham,  where  we  arrived  at  ten 
o'clock,  Albert  Smith  remarking,  that  never  before  in  his  life  had  he  accomplished 
a  day's  journey  on  the  Yankee  go-ahead  principle.  He  afterwards  published  a 
chapter  in  Bentleifx  M.,<juzine  entitled  "  A  Day  with  Bamum,"  in  which  he  said 
we  accomplished  business  with  such  rapidity  that,  \vheu  he  attempted  to  write  out 
the  accounts  of  the  day,  he  found  the  whole  thing  so  confused  in  his  brain  that  he 
came  near  locating  "Peeping  Tom"  in  the  house  of  Shakespeare,  while  Guy  of 
Warwick  would  stick  his  head  above  the  ruins  of  Kenilworth,  and  the  Warwick 
Vase  appeared  in  Coventry. 


CHAPTEE    XV. 

RETURN   TO   AMERICA. 

WHILE  I  was  at  Aberdeen,  in  Scotland,  I  met  Anderson,  the  "  Wizard  of  the 
North."  I  had  known  him  for  a  long  time,  and  we  were  on  familiar  terms.  He 
came  to  our  exhibition,  and,  at  the  close,  we  went  to  the  hotel  together  to  get  a 
little  supper.  After  supper  we  were  having  some  fun  and  jokes  together,  when 
it  occurred  to  Anderson  to  introduce  me  to  several  persons  who  were  sitting  in 
the  room,  as  the  "  Wizard  of  the  North,"  at  the  same  time  asking  me  about  my 
tricks  and  my  forthcoming  exhibition.  He  kept  this  up  so  persistently  that  some 
of  our  friends  who  were  present  declared  that  Anderson  was  "too  much  for  me," 
and,  meanwhile,  fresh  introductions  to  strangers  who  came  in,  had  made  me 
pretty  generally  known  in  that  circle  as  the  "  Wizard  of  the  North,"  who  was  to 
astonish  the  town  in  the  following  week.  I  accepted  the  situation  at  last,  and 
said: 

"  Well,  gentlemen,  as  I  perform  here  for  the  first  time,  on  Monday  evening,  1 
like  to  be  liberal,  and  I  should  be  very  happy  to  give  orders  of  admission  to  those 
of  you  who  will  attend  my  exhibition." 

The  applications  for  orders  were  quite  general,  and  I  had  written  thirty  or 
forty,  when  Anderson,  who  saw  that  I  was  in  a  fair  way  of  filling  his  house  with 
"  deadheads,"  cried  out: 

"Hold on!  I  am  the  'Wizard  of  the  North.'  Pll  stand  the  orders  already 
given,  but  not  another  one." 

Our  friends,  including  the  "  Wizard  "  himself,  began  to  think  that  I  had  rather 
the  best  of  the  joke. 

During  our  three  years'  stay  abroad,  I  made  a  second  hasty  visit  to  America, 
leaving  the  General  in  England  in  the  hands  of  my  agents.  I  took  passage  from 
Liverpool  on  board  a  Cunard  steamer,  commanded  by  Captain  Judkins.  One  of 
my  fellow  passengers  was  the  celebrated  divine,  Robert  Baird,  who  had  been  for 
some  time  a  missionary  in  Sweden,  and  was  now  paying  a  visit  to  his  native  land. 

On  Sunday  divine  service  was  held  as  usual  in  the  large  after-cabin.  Of  course 
it  was  the  Episcopal  form  of  worship. 

Those  who  have  witnessed  this  service,  as  conducted  by  Captain  Judkins,  need 
not  be  reminded  that  he  does  it  much  as  he  performs  his  duties  on  deck.  He 
speaks  as  one  having  authority ;  and  a  listener  could  hardly  help  f  eeling  that  there 
would  be  some  danger  of  a  "row"  if  the  petitions  (made  as  a  sort  of  command) 
were  not  speedily  answered. 

After  dinner  I  asked  Dr.  Baird  if  he  would  be  willing  to  preach  to  the  passengers 
in  the  forward  cabin.  He  said  he  would  cheerfully  do  so  if  it  was  desired.  I 
mentioned  it  to  the  passengers,  and  there  was  a  generally  expressed  wish  among 
them  that  he  should  preach.  I  went  into  the  forward  cabin,  and  requested  the 
steward  to  arrange  the  chairs  and  tables  properly  for  religious  service.  He 
replied  that  I  must  first  get  the  captain's  consent.  Of  course,  I  thought  this  was 
a  mere  matter  of  form;  so  I  went  to  the  captain's  oflice,  and  said: 

"  Captain,  the  passengers  desire  to  have  Dr.  Baird  conduct  a  religious  service  in 
the  forward  cabin.  I  suppose  there  is  no  objection." 

92 


RETURN  TO  AMERICA.  93 

'  Decidedly  there  is,"  replied  the  captain,  gruffly;  "  and  it  will  not  be  permitted." 
'  Why  not? "  I  asked,  in  astonishment. 
'  It  is  against  the  rules  of  the  ship." 

'  What!  to  have  religious  services  on  board?" 

"There  have  been  religious  services  once  to-day,  and  that  is  enough.  If  the 
passengers  do  not  think  that  is  good  enough,  let  them  go  without,"  was  the 
captain's  hasty  and  austere  reply. 

"  Captain,"  I  replied,  "  do  you  pretend  to  say  you  will  not  allow  a  respectable 
and  well-known  clergyman  to  offer  a  prayer  and  hold  religious  services  on  board 
your  ship  at  the  request  of  your  passengers?" 

"  That,  sir,  is  exactly  what  I  say.    So,  now,  let  me  hear  no  more  about  it." 

By  this  time  a  dozen  passengers  were  crowding  around  his  door,  and  expressing  f 
their  surprise  at  his  conduct.     I  was  indignant,  and  used  sharp  language. 

"  Well,"  said  I,  "  this  is  the  most  contemptible  thing  I  ever  heard  of  on  the  part 
of  the  owners  of  a  public  passenger  ship.  Their  meanness  ought  to  be  published 
far  and  wide." 

"You  had  better  'shut  up,' "  said  Captain  Judkins,  with  great  sternness. 

"I  will  not  'shut  up,'  "  I  replied;  "for  this  thing  is  perfectly  outrageous.  In 
that  out-of-the-way  forward  cabin,  you  allow,  on  week  days,  gambling,  swearing, 
smoking  and  singing,  till  late  at  night;  and  yet  on  Sunday  you  have  the  impu- 
dence to  deny  the  privilege  of  a  prayer-meeting,  conducted  by  a  gray-haired  and 
respected  minister  of  the  gospel.  It  is  simply  infamous  1" 

Captain  Judkins  turned  red  in  the  face;  and,  no  doubt  feeling  that  he  was 
"monarch  of  all  he  surveyed,"  exclaimed,  in  a  loud  voice: 

"  If  you  repeat  such  language,  I  will  put  you  in  irons."  * 

"Do  it,  if  you  dare,"  said  I,  feeling  my  indignation  rising  rapidly.  "I  dar« 
and  defy  you  to  put  your  finger  on  me.  I  would  like  to  sail  into  New  York  Har- 
bor in  handcuffs,  on  board  a  British  ship,  for  the  terrible  crime  of  asking  that 
religious  worship  may  be  permitted  on  board.  So  you  may  try  it  as  soon  as  you 
please  ;  and,  when  we  get  to  New  York,  I'll  show  you  a  touch  of  Yankee  ideas 
of  religious  intolerance." 

The  captain  made  no  reply  ;  and,  at  the  request  of  friends,  I  walked  to  another 
part  of  the  ship.  I  told  the  doctor  how  the  matter  stood,  and  then,  laughingly, 
said  to  him  : 

"Doctor,  it  may  be  dangerous  for  you  to  tell  of  this  incident  when  you  get  on 
shore  ;  for  it  would  be  a  pretty  strong  draught  upon  the  credulity  of  many  of 
my  countrymen  if  they  were  told  that  my  zeal  to  hear  an  Orthodox  minister 
preach  was  so  great  that  it  came  near  getting  me  into  solitary  confinement.  But 
I  am  not  prejudiced,  and  I  like  fair  play." 

The  old  Doctor  replied:  "Well,  you  have  not  lost  much;  and,  if  the  rules -of 
this  ship  are  so  stringent,  I  suppose  we  must  submit." 

The  captain  and  myself  had  no  further  intercourse  for  five  or  six  days ;  not 
until  a  few  hours  before  our  arrival  in  New  York.  Being  at  dinner,  he  sent  his 
champagne  bottle  to  me,  and  asked  to  "drink  my  health,"  at  the  same  time  stat- 
ing that  he  noped  no  ill  feeling  would  be  carried  ashore.  I  was  not  then,  as  I  am 
now,  a  teetotaler;  so  I  accepted  the  proffered  truce,  and  I  regret  that  I  must  add 
I  "washed  down"  my  wrath  in  a  bottle  of  Heidsick — a  poor  example,  which  I 
hope  never  to  repeat.  We  have  frequently  met  since,  and  always  with  friendly 
greetings;  but  I  have  ever  felt  that  his  manners  were  unnecessarily  coarse  and 

*  See  Illustration,  page  88. 


94  RETURN   TO   AMERICA. 

offensive  in  carrying  out  an  arbitrary  and  bigoted  rule  of  the  steamship  company. 

With  the  exception  of  the  brief  time  passed  in  making  two  short  visits  to 
America,  I  had  now  passed  three  years  with  General  Tom  Thumb  in  Great  Britain 
and  on  the  Continent.  The  entire  period  had  been  a  season  of  unbroken  pleasure 
and  profit.  1  had  immensely  enlarged  my  business  experiences  and  had  made 
money  and  many  friends.  Among  those  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  special 
courtesies  while  I  was  abroad  are  Dr.  C.  S.  Brewster,  whose  prosperous  profes- 
sional career  in  Russia  and  France  is  well  known,  and  Henry  Sumner,  Esq., 
who  occupied  a  high  position  in  the  social  and  literary  circles  of  Paris,  and  who 
introduced  me  to  George  Sand  and  to  many  other  distinguished  persons.  To  both 
these  gentlemen,  as  well  as  to  Mr.  John  Nimmo,  an  English  gentleman  connected 
with  Galignani's  Messenger,  Mr.  Lorenzo  Draper,  the  American  Consul,  and  Mr. 
Dion  Boucicault,  I  was  largely  indebted  for  attention.  In  London,  two  gentle- 
men especially  merit  my  warm  acknowledgments  for  many  valuable  favors.  I 
refer  to  the  late  Thomas  Brettell,  publisher,  Haymarket;  and  Mr.  R.  Fillingham, 
Jr.,  Fenchurch  street.  1  was  also  indebted  to  Mr.  G.  P.  Putnam,  at  that  time  a 
London  publisher,  for  much  useful  information. 

We  had  visited  nearly  every  city  and  town  in  France  and  Belgium,  all  the 
principal  places  in  England  and  Scotland,  besides  going  to  Belfast  and  Dublin,  in 
Ireland.  I  had  several  times  met  Daniel  O'Connell  in  private  life,  and  in  the 
Irish  capital  I  heard  him  make  an  eloquent  and  powerful  public  Repeal  speech 
in  Conciliation  HalL  In  Dublin,  after  exhibiting  a  week  in  Rotunda  Hall, 
our  receipts  on  the  last  day  were  £261,  or  $1,305,  and  the  General  also  received 
£50,  or  $250,  for  playing  the  same  evening  at  the  Theater  Royal  Thus  closing  a 
truly  triumphant  tour,  we  set  sail  for  New  York,  arriving  in  February,  1847 

NOTE. — This  Autobiography  was  originally  written  fifteen  years  ago  (1869). 
On  now  revising  it  in  18$4, 1  am  forcibly  struck  with  the  brevity  and  uncertainty 
of  human  life.  Every  person  mentioned  on  this  page,  with  the  exception  of  Mr. 
Boucicault,  has  passed  away.  My  assistant  museum  manager,  John  Greenwood, 
Jr. ,  became  a  consul  to  Brunswick,  Germany,  and  died  there  about  1872.  An- 
other valuable  assistant  manager,  Fordyce  Hitchcock,  died  the  present  year. 
General  Tom  Thumb  died  at  Middleboro,  Mass.,  July  15,  1883,  aged  45>£  years. 
His  parents  are  also  both  deceased.  Minnie  Warren  died  July  23,  1878,  aged  2V> 
years.  Commodore  Nutt  died  May  25,  1881,  aged  33  years. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

AT   HOME. 

ONE  of  my  main  objects  in  returning  home  at  this  time,  was  to  obtain  a  longer 
lease  of  the  premises  occupied  by  the  American  Museum.  My  lease  had  stiL 
three  years  to  run,  but  Mr.  Olmsted,  the  proprietor  of  the  building,  was  dead,  and 
I  was  anxious  to  make  provision  in  time  for  the  perpetuity  of  my  establishment, 
for  I  meant  to  make  the  Museum  a  permanent  institution  in  the  city,  and  if  I  could 
not  renew  my  lease,  I  intended  to  build  an  appropriate  edifice  op  Broadway.  I 
finally  succeeded,  however,  in  getting  the  lease  of  the  entire  building,  covering 
fifty-six  feet  by  one  hundred,  for  twenty-five  years,  at  an  annual  rent  of  $10,000 
and  the  ordinary  taxes  and  assessments.  I  had  already  hired  in  addition  the 
upper  stories  of  three  adjoining  buildings.  My  Museum  receipts  were  more  in 
one  day,  than  they  formerly  were  in  an  entire  week,  and  the  establishment  had 
become  so  popular  that  it  was  thronged  at  all  hours,  from  early  morning  to 
closing  time  at  night. 

On  my  return,  I  promptly  made  use  of  General  Tom  Thumb's  European  reputa- 
tion. He  immediately  appeared  in  the  American  Museum,  and  for  four  weeks  drew 
such  crowds  of  visitors  as  had  never  been  seen  there  before.  He  afterwards  spent 
a  month  in  Bridgeport,  with  his  kindred.  To  prevent  being  annoyed  by  the  curi- 
ous, who  would  be  sure  to  throng  the  houses  of  his  relatives,  he  exhibited  two 
days  at  Bridgeport,  and  the  receipts,  amounting  to  several  hundred  dollars,  were 
presented  to  the  Bridgeport  Charitable  Society. 

On  January  1,  1845,  while  in  England,  my  engagement  with  the  General  at  a 
salary  ceased,  and  we  made  a  new  arrangement  by  which  we  were  equal  partners, 
the  General,  or  his  father  for  him,  taking  one-half  of  the  profits.  A  reservation, 
however,  was  made  of  the  first  four  weeks  after  our  arrival  in  New  York,  during 
which  he  was  to  exhibit  at  my  Museum  for  two  hundred  dollars.  When  we 
returned  to  America,  the  General's  father  had  acquired  a  handsome  fortune,  and 
settling  a  large  sum  upon  the  little  General  personally,  he  placed  the  balance  at 
interest,  secured  by  bond  and  mortgage,  excepting  thirty  thousand  dollars,  with 
which  he  purchased  land  near  the  city  limits  of  Bridgeport,  and  erected  a  large 
and  substantial  mansion,  where  he  resided  till  the  day  of  his  death. 

After  spending  a  month  in  visiting  his  friends,  it  was  determined  that  the 
General  and  his  parents  should  travel  through  the  United  States.  I  agreed  to 
accompany  them,  with  occasional  intervals  of  rest  at  home,  for  one  year,  sharing 
the  profits  equally.  We  proceeded  to  Washington  city,  where  the  General  held 
his  levees  in  April,  1847,  visiting  President  Polk  and  lady  at  the  White  House — 
thence  to  Richmond,  returning  to  Baltimore  and  Philadelphia.  Our  receipts  in 
Philadelphia  in  twelve  days  were  $5,594.91.  The  tour  for  the  entire  year  realized 
about  the  same  average.  The  expenses  were  from  twenty-five  dollars  to  thirty 
dollars  per  day.  From  Philadelphia  we  went  to  Boston,  Lowell,  and  Providence. 
Our  receipts  on  one  day  in  the  latter  city  were  $976.97.  We  then  visited  New 
Bedford,  Fall  River,  Salem,  Worcester,  Springfield,  Albany,  Troy,  Niagara 
Falls,  Buffalo,  and  intermediate  places,  and  in  returning  to  New  York  we  stopped 

95 


96  A.T    HOME. 

at  the  principal  towns  on  the  Hudson  River.    After  this  we  visited  New  Haven, 
Hartford,  Portland,  Me.,  and  intermediate  towns. 

I  was  surprised  to  find  that,  during  my  long  absence  abroad,  I  had  become  very 
much  of  a  curiosity  to  my  patrons.  If  I  showed  myself  about  the  Museum  01 
wherever  else  I  was  known,  1  found  eyes  peering  and  fingers  pointing  at  me,  and 
could  frequently  overhear  the  remark,  "There's  Barnum."  On  one  occasion  soon 
after  my  return,  I  was  sitting  in  the  ticket-office  reading  a  newspaper.  A  man 
came  and  purchased  a  ticket  of  admission.  "  Is  Mr.  Barnum  in  the  Museum »'* 
he  asked.  The  ticket-seller,  pointing  to  me,  answered,  "This  is  Mr.  Barnum  " 
Supposing  the  gentleman  had  business  with  me,  I  looked  up  from  the  paper.  '•  Is 
this  Mr.  Barnum  ?"  he  asked.  "  It  is,"  I  replied.  He  stared  at  me  for  a  moment, 
and  then,  throwing  down  his  ticket,  exclaimed,  "It's  all  right;  I  have  got  the 
worth  of  my  money;"  and  away  he  went,  without  going  into  the  Museum  at  all: 
In  November,  1847,  we  started  for  Havana  taking  the  steamer  from  New  York 
to  Charleston,  where  the  General  exhibited,  as  well  as  at  Columbia,  Augusta, 
Savannah,  Milledgeville,  Macon,  Columbus,  Montgomery,  Mobile  and  New  Or- 
leans. At  this  latter  city  we  remained  three  weeks,  including  Christmas  and 
New  Year's.  We  arrived  in  Havana  by  the  schooner  Adams  Gray,  in  January, 
1848,  and  were  introduced  to  the  Captain-General  and  the  Spanish  nobility.  We 
remained  a  month  in  Havana  and  Ma.tan7.as,  the  General  proving  an  immense 
favorite.  In  Havana  he  was  the  especial  pet  of  Count  Santovania.  In  Matanzas 
we  were  very  much  indebted  to  the  kindness  of  a  princely  American  merchant, 
Mr.  Brinckerhoff.  Mr.  J.  S.  Thrasher,  the  American  patriot  and  gentleman,  was 
also  of  great  assistance  to  us,  and  placed  me  under  deep  obligations. 

The  hotels  in  Havana  are  not  good.  An  American  who  is  accustomed  to 
substantial  living  finds  it  difficult  to  get  enough  to  eat.  We  stopped  at  the 
Washington  House,  which  at  that  time  was  "first-rate  bad." 

From  Havana  we  went  to  New  Orleans,  where  we  remained  several  days,  and 
from  New  Orleans  we  proceeded  to  St.  Louis,  stopping  at  the  principal  towns  on 
the  Mississippi  river,  and  returning  via  Louisville,  Cincinnati,  and  Pittsburgh. 
We  reached  the  latter  city  early  in  May,  1848.  From  this  point  it  was  agreed 
between  Mr.  Stratton  and  myself,  that  I  should  go  home  and  henceforth  travel 
no  more  with  the  little  General.  I  had  competent  agents  who  could  exhibit  him 
without  my  personal  assistance,  and  I  preferred  to  relinquish  a  portion  of  the 
profits,  rather  than  continue  to  be  a  traveling  showman.  I  had  now  been  a 
straggler  from  home  most  of  the  time  for  thirteen  years,  and  I  cannot  describe 
the  feelings  of  gratitude  with  which  I  reflected,  that  having  by  the  most  arduous 
toil  and  deprivations  succeeded  in  securing  a  satisfactory  competence,  I  should 
henceforth  spend  my  days  in  the  bosom  of  my  family. 

My  new  home,  at  Bridgeport,  Connecticut,  which  was  then  nearly  ready  for 
occupancy,  was  the  well-known  Iranistan.  More  than  two  years  had  been 
employed  in  building  this  beautiful  residence. 

I  wished  to  reside  within  a  few  hours  of  New  York.  I  had  never  seen  more 
delightful  locations  than  there  are  upon  the  borders  of  Long  Island  Sound, 
between  New  Rochelle,  New  York,  and  New  Haven,  Connecticut ;  and  my  atten- 
tion was  therefore  turned  in  that  direction.  Bridgeport  seemed  to  be  about  the 
proper  distance  from  the  great  metropolis.  It  is  pleasantly  situated  at  the  ter- 
minus of  two  railroads,  which  traverse  the  fertile  valleys  of  the  Naugatuck  and 
Housatonic  rivers.  The  New  York  and  New  Haven  Railroad  runs  through  the 
city,  and  there  is  also  daily  steamboat  communication  with  New  York.  The 
enterprise  which  characterized  the  city,  seemed  to  mark  it  as  destined  to  become 


AT   HOME.  9? 

the  first  in  the  State  in  size  and  opulence ;  and  I  was  not  long  in  deciding,  with 
the  concurrence  of  my  wife,  to  fix  our  future  residence  in  that  vicinity. 

I  accordingly  purchased  seventeen  acres  of  land,  less  than  a  mile  west  of  the 
city,  and  fronting  with  a  good  view  upon  the  Sound. 

In  visiting  Brighton,  in  England,  I  had  been  greatly  pleased  with  the  Pavilion 
erected  by  George  IV.  It  was  the  only  specimen  of  Oriental  architecture  in 
England,  and  the  style  had  not  been  introduced  into  America,  I  concluded  to 
adopt  it,  and  engaged  a  London  architect  to  furnish  me  a  set  of  dra wings  after 
the  general  plan  of  the  Pavilion,  differing  sufficiently  to  be  adapted  to  the  spot 
of  ground  selected  for  my  homestead.  On  my  second  return  visit  to  the  United 
States,  I  brought  these  drawings  with  me  and  engaged  a  competent  architect  and 
builder,  giving  him  instructions  to  proceed  with  the  work,  not  "  by  the  job  "  but 
"by  the  day,"  and  to  spare  neither  tune  nor  expense  in  erecting  a  comfortable, 
convenient,  and  tasteful  residence.  The  work  was  thus  begun  and  continued 
while  I  was  still  abroad,  and  during  the  time  when  I  was  making  my  tour  with 
General  Tom  Thumb  through  the  United  States  and  Cuba.  Elegant  and  appro- 
priate furniture  was  made  expressly  for  every  room  in  the  house.  I  erected 
expensive  water  works  to  supply  the  premises.  The  stables,  conservatories  and 
out-buildings  were  perfect  in  their  kind.  There  was  a  profusion  of  trees  set  out 
on  the  grounds.  The  whole  was  built  and  established  literally  "regardless  of 
expense,"  for  I  had  no  desire  even  to  ascertain  the  entire  cost. 

The  whole  was  finally  completed  to  my  satisfaction.  My  family  removed  into 
the  premises  and,  on  the  foui-teenth  of  November,  1848,  nearly  one  thousand 
invited  guests,  including  the  poor  and  the  rich,  helped  us  in  the  old-fashioned 
custom  of  "house-warming." 

When  the  name  "  Iranistan  "  was  announced,  a  waggish  New  York  editor  sylla- 
bled it,  I-ran-i-stan,  and  gave  as  the  interpretation,  that  "  I  ran  a  long  time  before 
I  could  stan' ! "  Literally,  however,  the  name  signifies,  "Eastern  Country  Place," 
or,  more  poetically,  "  Oriental  Villa."  * 

The  years  1848  and  1849  were  mainly  spent  with  my  family,  though  I  went 
every  week  to  New  York  to  look  after  the  interests  of  the  American  Museum. 
While  I  was  in  Europe,  in  1845,  my  agent,  Mr.  Fordyce  Hitchcock,  had  bought 
out  for  me  the  Baltimore  Museum,  a  fully-supplied  establishment,  in  full  opera- 
tion, and  I  placed  it  under  the  charge  of  my  uncle,  Alanson  Taylor.  He  died  in 
1846,  and  I  then  sold  the  Baltimore  Museum  to  the  "  Orphean  Family,"  by  whom 
it  was  subsequently  transferred  to  Mr.  John  E.  Owens,  the  celebrated  comedian. 
After  my  return  from  Europe,  I  opened,  in  1849,  a  Museum  in  Dr.  Swain's  fine 
building,  at  the  corner  of  Chestnut  and  Seventh  streets,  in  Philadelphia. 

I  stayed  in  Philadelphia  long  enough  to  identify  myself  with  this  Museum  and 
to  successfully  start  the  enterprise,  and  then  left  it  in  the  hands  of  different  mana- 
gers who  profitably  conducted  it  till  1851,  when,  finding  that  it  occupied  too  much 
of  my  time  and  attention,  I  sold  it  to  Mr.  Clapp  Spooner  for  $40,000.  At  the 
end  of  that  year,  the  building  and  contents  were  destroyed  by  fire. 

While  my  Philadelphia  Museum  was  in  full  operation,  Peale's  Philadelphia 
Museum  ran  me  a  strong  opposition  at  the  Masonic  Hall.  Peale's  enterprise  proved 
disastrous,  and  I  purchased  the  collection  at  sheriff 's  sale,  for  five  or  six  thousand 
dollars,  on  joint  account  of  my  friend  Moses  Kimball  and  myself.  The  curiosi-t 
ties  were  equally  divided,  one-half  going  to  his  Boston  Mr.soinn  and  the  other 
half  to  my  American  Museum  in  New  York. 

*  See  Illustration,  opposite. 


98  AT    HOME. 

Ill  1848  1  was  elected  President  of  the  Fail-field  County  Agricultural  Society  in 
Connecticut  Although  not  practically  a  farmer,  I  had  purchased  about  one 
hundred  acres  of  land  in  the  vicinity  of  my  residence  and  felt  and  still  feel  a 
deep  interest  in  the  cause  of  agriculture.  I  had  begun  by  importing  some  blood 
stock  for  Iranistan,  and,  as  I  was  at  one  time  attacked  by  the  "hen  fever,  "  J 
erected  several  splendid  poultry-houses  on  my  grounds. 

In  1849  it  was  determined  by  the  Society  that  1  should  deliver  the  annual  address. 
I  begged  to  be  excused  on  the  ground  of  incompetency,  but  my  excuses  were  of 
no  avail,  and,  as  I  could  not  instruct  my  auditors  in  farming,  I  gave  them  the 
benefit  of  several  mistakes  which  I  had  committed.  Among  other  things,  I  told 
them  that  in  the  fall  of  1848  my  head-gardener  reported  that  I  had  fifty  bushels 
of  potatoes  to  spare.  I  thereupon  directed  him  to  barrel  them  up  and  ship  them 
to  New  York  for  sale.  He  did  so,  and  received  two  dollars  per  barrel,  or  about 
sixty-seven  cents  per  busheL  But,  unfortunately,  after  the  potatoes  had  been 
shipped,  I  found  that  my  gardener  had  selected  all  the  largest  for  market,  and 
left  my  family  nothing  but  "  small  potatoes  "  to  live  on  during  the  winter.  But 
the  worst  is  still  to  come.  My  potatoes  were  all  gone  before  March,  and  I  was 
obliged  to  buy,  during  the  spring,  over  fifty  bushels  of  potatoes,  at  $1.25  per 
bushel!  I  also  related  my  first  experiment  in  the  arboricultural  line,  when  I  cut 
from  two  thrifty  rows  of  young  cherry-trees  any  quantity  of  what  I  supposed  to 
be  "suckers,"  or  "sprouts,"  and  was  thereafter  informed  by  my  gardener  that  I 
had  cut  off  all  his  grafts! 

A  friend  of  mine,  Mr.  James  D.  Johnson,  lived  in  a  fine  house  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  west  of  Iranistan,  and,  as  I  owned  several  acres  of  land  at  the  corner  of  two 
streets,  directly  adjoining  his  homestead,  I  surrounded  the  ground  with  high 
pickets,  and,  introducing  a  number  of  Rocky  Mountain  elk,  reindeer,  and  Ameri- 
can deer,  I  converted  it  into  a  deer  park.  Strangers  passing  by  would  naturally 
suppose  that  it  belonged  to  Johnson's  estate,  and  to  render  the  illusion  more 
complete,  his  son-in-law,  Mr.  S.  H.  Wales,  of  the  Scientific  American,  placed  a 
sign  in  the  park,  fronting  on  the  street,  and  reading: 

"  ALL  PERSONS  ABE  FORBID  TRESPASSING  ON  THESE  GROUNDS,  OR  DISTURBING 
THE  DEER.  J.  D.  JOHNSON." 

I  "  acknowledged  the  corn,"  and  was  much  pleased  with  the  joke.  Johnson 
was  delighted,  and  bragged  considerably  of  having  got  ahead  of  Barnum,  and 
the  sign  remained  undisturbed  for  several  days.  It  happened  at  length  that  a 
party  of  friends  came  to  visit  him  from  New  York,  arriving  in  the  evening. 
Johnson  told  them  he  had  got  a  capital  joke  on  Barnum;  he  would  not  explain, 
but  said  they  should  see  it  for  themselves  the  next  morning.  Bright  and  early 
he  led  them  into  the  street,  and,  after  conducting  them  a  proper  distance, 
wheeled  them  around  in  front  of  the  sign.  To  his  dismay  he  discovered  that  I 
had  added  directly  under  his  name  the  words  "  Game-keeper  to  P.  T.  Barnum." 

Thereafter,  Mr.  Johnson  was  known  among  his  friends  and  acquaintances  as 
"Barnum's  game-keeper."  Sometime  afterwards,  when  I  was  President  of  the 
Pequonnock  Bank,  it  was  my  custom  every  year  to  give  a  grand  dinner  at  Iran- 
istan, to  the  directors,  and  in  making  preparations  I  used  to  send  to  certain 
friends  in  the  West  for  prairie  chickens  and  other  game.  On  one  occasion,  a 
large  box,  marked  "P.  T.  Barnum,  Bridgeport;  Game,"  was  lying  in  the  express 
office,  when  Johnson,  seeing  it  and  espying  the  word  "game,"  said: 

"  Look  here!    1  am  '  Barnum's  game-keeper,'  and  I'll  take  charge  of  this  box." 


AT  HOME.  99 

And  "take  charge"  of  it  he  did,  carrying  it  home  and  notifying  me  that  it 
was  in  his  possession,  and  that,  as  he  was  my  game-keeper,  he  would  "keep" 
this,  unless  I  sent  him  an  order  for  a  new  hat.  He  knew  very  well,  that  I  would 
give  fifty  dollars  rather  than  be  deprived  of  the  box,  and  as  he  also  threatened  to 
give  a  game  dinner  at  his  own  house,  I  speedily  sent  the  order  for  the  hat, 
acknowledged  the  good  joke,  and  my  own  guests  enjoyed  the  double  "game." 

During  the  year  1848,  Mr.  Frank  Leslie,  since  so  widely  known  as  the  publisher 
of  several  illustrated  journals,  came  to  me  with  letters  of  introduction  from 
London,  and  I  employed  him  to  get  up  for  me  an  illustrated  catalogue  of  my 
Museum.  This  he  did  in  a  splendid  manner,  and  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
copies  were  sold  and  distributed  far  and  near,  thus  adding  greatly  to  the  renown 
of  the  establishment. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

THE   JENXT   LIND   ENTERPRISE. 

AND  now  I  come  to  speak  of  an  undertaking  which  all  will  admit  was  bol«i 
in  its  conception,  complete  in  its  development,  and  astounding  in  its  success. 
That  I  am  proud  of  it,  I  freely  confess.  It  placed  me  before  the  world  in  a  new 
light;  it  gained  me  many  warm  friends  in  new  circles;  it  was  in  itself  a  fortune 
to  me — I  risked  much,  but  I  made  more. 

It  was  in  October,  1849,  that  I  conceived  the  idea  of  bringing  Jenny  Lind  to 
this  country.  I  had  never  heard  her  sing,  inasmuch  as  she  arrived  in  London  a 
few  weeks  after  I  left  that  city  with  General  Tom  Thumb.  Her  reputation, 
however,  was  sufficient  for  me. 

I  found  in  Mr.  John  Hall  Wilton,  an  Englishman  who  had  visited  this  country 
with  the  Sax-Horn  Players,  the  best  man  whom  I  knew  for  that  purpose.  A 
few  minutes  sufficed  to  make  the  arrangement  with  him,  by  which  I  was  to  pay 
but  little  more  than  his  expenses  if  he  failed  in  his  mission,  but  by  which,  also,  he 
was  to  be  paid  a  large  sum  if  he  succeeded  in  bringing  Jenny  Lind  to  our  shores 
on  any  terms  within  a  liberal  schedule  which  I  set  forth  to  him  in  writing. 

The  sum  of  all  my  instructions,  public  and  private,  to  Wilton,  amounted  to 
this:  He  was  to  engage  her  on  shares,  if  possible.  I,  however,  authorized  him  to 
engage  her  at  any  rate,  not  exceeding  one  thousand  dollars  a  night,  for  any 
number  of  nights  up  to  one  hundred  and  fifty,  with  all  her  expenses,  including 
servants,  carriages,  secretary,  etc.,  besides  also  engaging  such  musical  assistants, 
not  exceeding  three  in  number,  as  she  should  select,  let  the  terms  be  what  they 
might.  If  necessary,  I  should  place  the  entire  amount  of  money  named  in  the 
engagement,  in  the  hands  of  London  bankers  before  she  sailed.  Wilton's  com- 
pensation was  arranged  on  a  kind  of  sliding  scale,  to  be  governed  by  the  terms 
which  he  made  for  me.  He  proceeded  to  London,  and  opened  a  correspondence 
with  Miss  Lind,  who  was  then  on  the  Continent.  He  learned  from  the  tenor  of 
her  letters,  that  if  she  could  be  induced  to  visit  America  at  all,  she  must  be 
accompanied  by  *  Mr.  Julius  Benedict,  the  accomplished  composer,  pianist,  and 
musical  director,  and  also  she  was  impressed  with  the  belief  that  Signer  Belletti, 
the  fine  baritone,  would  be  of  essential  service.  Wilton,  therefore,  at  once  called 
upon  Mr.  Benedict  and  also  Signor  Belletti,  who  were  both  then  in  London,  and  in 
numerous  interviews,  was  enabled  to  leam  the  terms  on  which  they  would  con- 
sent to  engage  to  visit  this  country  with  Miss  Lind.  Having  obtained  the 
information  desired,  he  proceeded  to  Lubeck,  in  Germany,  to  seek  an  interview 
with  Miss  Lind  herself. 

In  the  course  of  the  fii'st  conversation,  she  frankly  told  him  that  during  the 
time  occupied  by  their  correspondence,  she  had  written  to  friends  in  London, 
including  my  friend  Mr.  Joshua  Bates,  of  the  house  of  Baring  Brothers,  and  had 
informed  herself  respecting  my  character,  capacity,  and  responsibility,  which 
she  assured  him  were  quite  satisfactory.  She  informed  him,  however,  that  at 
that  time  there  were  four  persons  anxious  to  negotiate  with  her  for  an  American 

*  ICow  Sir  Julius. 


THE   JENNY    LIND    ENTERPRISE.  101 

tour.  One  of  these  gentlemen  was  a  well-known  opera  manager  in  London; 
another,  a  theatrical  manager  in  Manchester;  a  third,  a  musical  composer  and 
conductor  of  the  orchestra  of  Her  Majesty's  Opera  in  London;  and  the  fourth, 
Chevalier  Wyckoff,  a  person  who  had  conducted  a  successful  speculation  some 
years  previously,  by  visiting  America  in  charge  of  the  celebrated  danseuse, 
Fanny  Elisler. 

Several  interviews  ensued,  during  which  she  learned  from  Wilton  that  he  had 
settled  with  Messrs.  Benedict  and  Belletti,  in  regard  to  the  amount  of  their 
salaries,  provided  the  engagement  was  concluded,  and  in  the  course  of  a  week, 
Mr.  Wilton  and  Miss  Lind  had  arranged  the  terms  and  conditions  on  which  she 
was  ready  to  conclude  the  negotiations.  As  these  terms  were  within  the  limits 
fixed  in  my  private  letter  of  instructions,  the  following  agreement  was  duly 
drawn  in  triplicate,  and  signed  by  herself  and  Wilton^  at  Lubeck,  January  9, 
1850;  and  the  signatures  of  Messrs.  Benedict  and  BellettT  were  affixed  in  London 
a  few  days  afterwards: 

MEMORANDUM  of  an  agreement  entered  into  this  ninth  day  of  January,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  fifty,  between  John  Hall  Wiltou,  as  ag«nt  for  PIIIN- 
EAS  T.  I^AHNUM,  o(  New  York,  in  the  United  States  of  North  America,  of  the  one  part,  and 
Mademoiselle  JENNY  LIND,  Vocalist,  of  Stockholm,  in  Sweden,  of  the  other  part  wherein 
the  said  Jenny  Lind  doth  agree: 

First.  To  sing  for  the  said  Phineas  T.  Barnum  in  one  hundred  and  fifty  concert?,  inclui- 
ing  oratorios,  within  (if  possible;  one  year  or  eighteen  months  from  the  date  of  hc<  rrival 
in  the  city  of  New  York — the  said  concerts  to  be  given  in  the  United  States  ci  North 
America  and  Havana.  She,  the  said  Jenny  Lind,  having  fall  control  as  to  the  number  of 
nights  or  concerts  in  each  week,  and  the  number  of  pieces  in  which  she  will  sing  in  eacJ1 
concert,  to  be  regulated  conditionally  with  her  health  and  safety  of  voice,  but  the  forme/ 
never  less  than  one  or  two,  nor  the  latter  less  than  four;  but  hi  no  case  to  appear  ii 
operas. 

Second.  In  consideration  of  said  services,  the  said  John  Hall  Wilton,  as  agent  'or  the 
said  Phineas  T.  Barnum,  of  New  York,  agrees  to  furnish  the  said  Jenny  Lind  wrL»  a  ser- 
vant as  waiting-maid,  and  a  male  servant  to  and  for  the  sole  service  of  her  and  her  party; 
to  pay  the  traveling  and  hotel  expenses  of  a  friend  to  accompany  her  as  a  companion;  to 
pay  also  a  secretary  to  superintend  her  finances;  to  pay  all  her  and  her  party's  traveling 
expenses  from  Europe,  iwd  during  the  tour  in  the  United  States  of  North  America  and 
Havana  ;  to  pay  all  hotel  expenses  for  board  and  lodging  during  the  same  period  ;  to  place 
at  her  disposal  in  each  city,  a  carriage  and  horses  with  their  necessary  attendants,  and  to 
give  her  in  addition,  the  sum  o.f  two  hundred  pounds  sterling,  or  one  thousand  dollars,  for 
each  concert  or  oratorio  in  which  the  said  Jenny  Lind  shall  sing. 

Third.  And  the  saiJ  John  Hall  Wilton,  as  agent  for  the  said  Phineas  T.  Barnum,  doth 
further  agree  to  give  the  said  Jenny  Lind  the  most  satisfactory  security  and  assurance  for 
the  full  amount  of  her  engagement,  which  will  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  Messrs.  Baring 
Brothers,  of  London,  previous  to  the  departure,  and  subject  to  the  order  of  the  said  Jenny 
Lind,  with  its  interest  due  on  its  current  reduction,  by  her  services  in  the  concerts  or 
oratorios. 

Fourth.  And  the  said  John  Hall  Wilton,  on  the  part  ol  the  said  Phineas  T.  Barnum, 
further  agrees,  that  should  the  said  Phineas  T.  Barnum,  after  seventy-live  concerts,  have 
realized  so  much  as  shall,  after  paying  all  current  expenses,  have  returned  to  him  all  the 
sums  disbursed,  either  as  deposits  at  interest,  for  securities  of  salaries,  preliminary  outlay, 
or  moneys  in  any  way  expended  consequent  on  this  engagement,  and  in  addition,  have 

§  lined  a  clear  profit  of  at  least  fifteen  thousand  pounds  sterling,  then  the  said  Phineas  T. 
arnuni  will  give  the  said  Jenny  Lind,  in  addition  to  the  former  sum  of  one  thousand  dol- 
lars current  money  of  the  United  States  of  North  America,  nightly,  one-fifth  part  of  the 
profits  arising  from  the  remaining  seventy-five  concerts  or  oratorios,  after  deducting  every 
expense  current  :md  appertaining  thereto;  or  the  said  Jenny  Lind  agrees  to  try,  with  the 
said  Phineas  T.  Baruum,  fifty  concerts  or  oratorios  on  the  aforesaid  and  first-named  terms, 
and  if  then  found  to  fall  short  of  the  expectations  of  the  said  Phineas  T.  Barnum,  then  the 
said  Jenny  Lind  agrees  to  re-organize  this  agreement,  on  terms  quoted  in  his  first  proposal, 
as  set  forth  in  the  annexed  copy  of  his  letter ;  but  should  such  be  found  unnecessary,  then 
the  engagement  continues  up  to  seventy-five  concerts  or  oratorios,  at  the  end  of  which, 
should  the  aforesaid  profit  of  fifteen  thousand  pounds  sterling  have  not  been  realized,  then 
the  engagement  shall  continue  as  at  first— the  sums  herein,  after  expenses  for  Julius  Bene- 
dict and  Giovanni  Belletti,  to  remain  unaltered,  except  for  advancement. 

Fifth.  And  the  said  John  Hall  Wilton,  agent  for  the  said  Phineas  T.  Barnum,  at  the 
request  of  the  said  Jenny  Lind, .agrees  to  pay  to  Julius  Benedict,  of  London,  to  accompany 
the  said  Jenny  Lind  as  musical  director,  pianist,  and  superintendent  of  the  HI  u>.ical  depart- 


103  THE   JENNY   LIND   ENTERPRISE. 

ment,  also  to  assist  the  said  Jenny  Lind  in  one  hundred  and  fifty  concerts  or  oratorios,  to 
be  given  in  the  United  States  of  North  America  and  Havana,  the  sum  of  five  thousand 
pounds  (£5,000)  sterling,  to  be  satisfactorily  secured  to  him  with  Messrs.  Baring  Brothers. 
of  London,  previous  to  his  departure  from  Europe;  and  the  Baid  John  Hall  Wilton  agrees 
further,  for  the  said  Phiueas  T.  Barnum  to  pay  all  his  traveling  expenses  from  Europe, 
together  with  his  hotel  and  traveling  expenses  during  the  time  occupied  in  giving  the  afore- 
said one  hundred  and  fifty  concerts  or  oratorios— he,  the  said  Julius  Benedict  to  superin- 
tend the  organization  of  oratorios,  if  required. 

Sixth.  And  the  said  John.  Hall  Wilton,  at  the  request,  selection,  and  for  the  aid  of  the 
said  Jenny  Lind,  agrees  to  pay  to  Giovanni  Belletti,  baritone  vocalist,  to  accompany  the 
said  Jenny  Lind  during  her  tour  and  in  one  hundred  and  fifty  concerts  or  oratorios  in  the 
United  States  of  North  America  and  Havana,  and  in  conjunction  with  the  aforesaid  Julius 
Benedict,  the  sum  of  two  thousand  five  hundred  pounds  (£2,500)  sterline,  to  be  satisfac- 
torily secured  to  him  previous  to  his  departure  from  Europe,  in  addition  to  all  his  hotel  and 
traveling  expenses. 

Seventh.  And  it  is  further  agreed  that  the  said  Jenny  Lind  shall  be  at  full  liberty  to  sing 
at  any  time  she  may  think  fit  tor  charitable  institutions,  or  purposes  independent  of  the 
engagement  with  the  said  Phineas  T.  Barnum,  she,  the  said  Jenny  Lind,  consulting  with 
the  said  Phineas  T.  Barnum  with  a  view  to  mutually  agreeing  as  to  the  time  and  its  pro- 
priety, it  being  understood  that  in  no  case  shall  the  first  or  second  concert  in  any  city 
selected  for  the  tour  be  for  such  purpose,  or  wherever  it  shall  appear  against  the  interests 
of  the  said  Phineas  T.  Barnum. 

Eighth.  It  is  further  agreed  that  should  the  said  Jenny  Lind  by  any  act  of  God,  be 
Incapacitated  to  fulfil  the  entire  engagement  before  mentioned,  that  an  equal  proportion  ol 
the  terms  agreed  upon  shall  be  given  to  the  said  Jenny  Lind,  Julius  Benedict,  and  Giovanni 
Belletti,  for  services  rendered  to  that  time. 

Ninth.  It  is  further  agreed  and  understood,  that  the  said  Phineas  T.  Barnum  shall  pay 
every  expense  appertaining  to  the  concerts  or  oratorios  before  mentioned,  excepting  those 
for  charitable  purposes,  and  that  all  accounts  shall  be  settled  and  rendered  by  all  parties 
weekly. 

Tenth.  And  the  said  Jenny  Lind  furthers  agrees  that  she  will  not  engage  to  Ring  for 
any  other  person  during  the  progress  of  this  said  engagement  with  the  said  Phineas  T. 
Barnum,  of  New  York,  for  one  hundred  and  fifty  concerts  or  oratorios,  excepting  for 
charitable  purposes  as  before  mentioned  ;  and  all  traveling  to  be  first  and  best  class. 

In  witness  hereof  to  the  within  written  memorandum  of  agreement  we  set  hereunto  om 
hand  and  seal. 


IL.  s. 
L.S. 
I..  8. 
L.8. 


JOHN  HALL  WILTON,  Agent  for  Phineas  T.  Barnum,  of  New  York.  U.  8. 
JENNY  LIND. 
JULIUS  BENEDICT. 
GIOVANNI  BELLETTI. 


In  the  presence  of  C.  ACHILLINQ,  Consul  of  His  Majesty  the  King  of  Sweden  and  Norway. 

extract  from  a  Utter  addressed  to  John  Hall  WiUan  by  PHINEAS  T.  BARNUM,  and  referred 

to  in  paragraph.  No  4  of  the  annexed  agreement: 

NEW  YORK,  November  fr,  1849. 
MB.  J.  HALL  WILTON  : 

Sir:  In  reply  to  your  proposal  to  attempt  a  negotiation  with  Mile.  Jenny  Lind  to  visit 
tb«  United  States  professionally,  I  propose  to  enter  into  an  arrangement  with  her  to  the 
following  effect :  I  will  engage  to  pay  all  her  expenses  from  Europe,  provide  for  and  pay  for 
Ou«  principal  tenor,  and  one  pianist,  their  salaries  not  exceeding  together,  one  hundred  aud 
flfly  dollars  per  night ;  to  support  for  her  a  carriage,  two  servants,  and  a  friend  to  accom- 
pany her  and  superintend  her  finances.  I  will  furthermore  pay  all  and  every  expense  apper- 
taining to  her  appearance  before  the  public,  and  give  her  half  of  the  gross  receipts  arising 
from  concerts  or  operas.  I  -will  engage  to  travel  with  her  personally,  and  attend  to  the 
arrangements,  provided  she  will  undertake  to  give  not  less  than  eighty,  nor  more  than  one 
hundred  and  fifty  concerts,  or  nights'  performances. 

PHINEAS  T.  BARNUM. 

I  certify  the  above  to  be  a  true  extract  from  the  letter.  J.  H.  WILTON. 

I  was  at  my  Museum  in  Philadelphia  when  Wilton  arrived  in  New  York,  Feb- 
ruary 19.  1850.  He  immediately  telegraphed  to  me,  in  the  cipher  we  had  agreed 
upon,  taat  he  had  signed  an  engagement  with  Jenny  Land,  by  which  she  was  to 
commence  her  concerts  in  America  in  the  following  September.  I  was  somewhat 
startled  by  this  sudden  announcement;  and  feeling  that  the  time  to  elapse  before 
her  arrival  was  so  long  that  it  would  be  policy  to  keep  the  engagement  private 
for  a  rew  months,  I  immediately  telegraphed  him  not  to  mention  it  to  any 
person,  and  that  I  would  meet  him  the  next  day  in  New  York. 


THE   JENNY    LIND   ENTERPRISE.  103 

When  we  reflect  how  thoroughly  Jenny  Lind,  her  musical  powers,  her  char- 
acter, and  wonderful  successes,  were  subsequently  known  by  all  classes  in  thi« 
country  as  well  as  throughout  the  civilized  world,  it  is  difficult  to  realize  that,  at 
the  time  this  engagement  was  made,  she  was  comparatively  unknown  on  this  side 
the  water.  We  can  hardly  credit  the  fact,  that  millions  of  persons  in  America 
had  never  heard  of  her,  that  other  millions  had  merely  read  her  name,  but  had 
no  distinct  idea  of  who  or  what  she  was.  Only  a  small  portion  of  the  public  were 
really  aware  of  her  great  musical  triumphs  in  the  Old  World,  and  this  portion 
was  confined  almost  entirely  to  musical  people,  travelers  who  had  visited  the 
Old  World,  and  the  conductors  of  the  press. 

The  next  morning  I  started  for  New  York.  On  arriving  at  Princeton  we  met 
the  New  York  cars,  and,  purchasing  the  morning  papers,  I  was  surprised  to  find 
in  them  a  full  account  of  my  engagement  with  Jenny  Lind.  This  premature 
announcement  could  not  be  recalled,  and  I  put  the  best  face  on  the  matter. 
Anxious  to  learn  how  this  communication  would  strike  the  public  mind,  I 
informed  the  conductor,  whom  I  well  knew,  that  I  had  made  an  engagement  with 
Jenny  Lind,  and  that  she  would  surely  visit  this  country  in  the  following  August. 

"  Jenny  Lind!    Is  she  a  dancer  ?"  asked  the  conductor. 

I  informed  him  who  and  what  she  was,  but  his  question  had  chilled  me  as  if  his 
words  were  ice.  Really,  thought  I,  if  this  is  all  that  a  man  in  the  capacity  of  a 
railroad  conductor  between  Philadelphia  and  New  York  knows  of  the  greatest 
songstress  in  the  world,  I  am  not  sure  that  six  months  will  be  too  long  a  time  for 
me  to  occupy  in  enlightening  the  public  in  regard  to  her  merits. 

I  had  an  interview  with  Wilton,  and  learned  from  him  that,  in  accordance 
with  the  agreement,  it  would  be  requisite  for  me  to  place  the  entire  amount  stipu 
lated,  $187,500,  in  the  hands  of  the  London  bankers.  I  at  once  resolved  to  ratify 
the  agreement,  and  immediately  sent  the  necessary  documents  to  Miss  Lind  and 
Messrs.  Benedict  and  BellettL 

I  then  began  to  prepare  the  public  mind,  through  the  newspapers,  for  th.> 
reception  of  the  great  songstress.  How  effectually  this  was  done,  is  still  within 
the  remembrance  of  the  American  public.  As  a  sample  of  the  manner  in  which 
I  accomplished  my  purpose,  I  present  the  following  extract  from  my  first  letter, 
which  appeared  in  the  New  York  papers  of  February  23,  1850: 

"Perhaps  I  may  not  make  any  money  by  this  enterprise;  but  I  assure  you  that 
if  I  knew  I  should  not  make  a  farthing  profit,  I  would  ratify  the  engagement,  so 
anxious  am  I  that  the  United  States  should  be  visited  by  a  lady  whose  vocal 
powers  have  never  been  approached  by  any  other  human  being,  and  whose 
character  is  charity,  simplicity,  and  goodness  personified. 

"  Miss  Lind  has  great  anxiety  to  visit  America.  She  speaks  of  this  country 
and  its  institutions  in  the  highest  terms  of  praise.  In  her  engagement  with  me 
(which  includes  Havana),  she  expressly  reserves  the  right  to  give  charitable  con- 
certs whenever  she  thinks  proper. 

"  Since  her  debut  in  England,  she  has  given  to  the  poor  from  her  own  private 
purse  more  than  the  whole  amount  which  I  have  engaged  to  pay  her,  and  the 
proceeds  of  concerts  for  charitable  purposes  in  Great  Britain,  where  she  has  sung 
gratuitously,  have  realized  more  than  ten  times  that  amount." 

After  getting  together  all  my  available  funds  for  the  purpose  of  transmitting 
them  to  London  in  the  shape  of  United  States  bonds,  I  found  a  considerable  sum 
still  lacking  to  make  up  the  amount.  I  had  some  second  mortgages  which  were 
perfectly  good,  but  I  could  not  negotiate  them  hi  Wall  street.  Nothing  would 
answer  there  short  of  first  mortgages  on  New  York  or  Brooklyn  city  property. 


104  THE   JENNY    L1ND    ENTERPRISE. 

1  went  to  the  president  of  the  bank  where  I  had  done  all  my  business  for  eight, 
years.  I  offered  him,  as  security  for  a  loan,  my  second  mortgages,  and  as  an 
additional  inducement,  I  proposed  to  make  over  to  him  my  contract  with  Jenny 
Liiid,  with  a  written  guaranty  that  he  should  appoint  a  receiver,  who,  at  my 
expense,  should  take  charge  of  all  the  receipts  over  and  above  three  thousand 
dollars  per  night,  and  appropriate  them  towards  the  payment  of  my  loan.  He 
laughed  in  my  face,  and  said:  "  Mr.  Barnum,  it  is  generally  believed  in  Wall 
street,  that  your  engagement  with  Jenny  Liud  will  ruin  you.  I  do  not  think 
you  will  ever  receive  so  much  as  three  thousand  dollars  at  a  single  concert."  I 
was  indignant  at  his  want  of  appreciation,  and  answered  him  that  I  would  not  at 
that  moment  take  $150,000  for  my  contract;  nor  would  I.  I  found,  upon  further 
inquiry,  that  it  was  useless  in  Wall  street  to  offer  the  "  Nightingale  "  in  exchange 
for  Goldfinches.  I  finally  was  introdured  to  Mr.  John  L.  Aspinwall,  of  the  firm 
of  Messrs.  Howland  &  Aspinwall,  and  he  gave  me  a  letter  of  credit  from  his 
firm  on  Baring  Brothers,  for  a  large  sum  on  collateral  securities,  which  a  spirit 
of  genuine  respect  for  my  enterprise  induced  him  to  accept. 

After  disposing  of  several  pieces  of  property  for  cash,  I  footed  up  the  various 
amounts,  and  still  discovered  myself  five  thousand  dollars  short.  I  felt  that  it 
was  indeed  "  the  last  feather  that  breaks  the  camel's  back."  Happening  casually 
to  state  my  desperate  case  to  the  Rev.  Abel  C.  Thomas,  of  Philadelphia,  for  many 
years  a  friend  of  mine,  he  promptly  placed  the  requisite  amount  at  my  disposal 
I  gladly  accepted  Ms  proffered  friendship,  and  felt  that  he  had  removed  a  moun- 
tain-weight from  my  shoulders. 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

THE   NIGHTINGALE   IN   NEW    YORK. 

ON  Wednesday  morning,  August  21,  1S50,  Jenny  Lind  and  Messrs.  Benedict 
and  Belletti,  set  sail  from  Liverpool  in  the  steamship  Atlantic,  in  which  I  had 
long  before  engaged  the  necessary  accommodations,  and  on  board  of  which  I  had 
shipped  a  piano  for  their  use.  They  were  accompanied  by  my  agent,  Mr.  Wilton, 
and  also  by  Miss  Ahmansen  and  Mr.  Max  Hjortzberg,  cousins  of  Miss  Lind,  tht> 
latter  being  her  secretary;  also  by  her  two  servants,  and  the  valet  of  Messra. 
Benedict  and  Belletti. 

It  was  expected  that  the  steamer  would  arrive  on  Sunday,  September  1.  but; 
determined  to  meet  the  songstress  on  her  arrival  whenever  it  might  be,  I  \vt-nt  to 
Staten  Island  on  Saturday,  and  slept  at  the  hospitable  residence  of  my  friend. 
Dr.  A.  Sidney  Doane,  who  was  at  that  time  the  Health  Officer  of  the  Port  of 
New  York.  A  few  minutes  before  twelve  o'clock,  on  Sunday  morning,  tht. 
Atlantic  hove  in  sight,  and  immediately  afterwards,  through  the  kindness  of  my 
friend  Doane,  I  was  on  board  the  ship,  and  had  taken  Jenny  Lind  by  the  hand. 

After  a  few  moments'  conversation,  she  asked  me  when  and  where  I  had  heard 
her  sing. 

"  I  never  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you  before  hi  my  life,"  I  replied. 

"How  is  it  poasible  that  you  dared  risk  so  much  money  on  a  person  whom  you 
never  heard  sing  ?"  she  asked  in  surprise. 

"  I  risked  it  on  your  reputation,  which  in  musical  matters  I  woi  '  ~»>nch  rathw 
trust  than  my  own  judgment,"  I  replied. 

I  may  as  well  state,  that  although  I  relied  prominently  upon  Jenny  Lind's 
reputation  as  a  great  musical  artiste,  I  also  took  largely  into  my  estimate  of  her 
success  with  all  classes  of  the  American  pubh'c,  her  character  for  extraordinary 
benevolence  and  generosity.  Without  this  peculiarity  in  her  disposition,  I  never 
would  have  dared  make  the  engagement  which  I  did,  as  I  felt  sure  that  there 
were  multitudes  of  individuals  in  America  who  would  be  prompted  to  attend  her 
concerts  by  this  feeling  alone. 

Thousands  of  persons  covered  the  shipping  and  piers,  and  other  thousands  had 
congregated  on  the  wharf  at  Canal  street,  to  see  her.  The  wildest  enthusiasm 
prevailed  as  the  steamer  approached  the  dock.  So  great  was  the  rush  on  a  sloop 
near  the  steamer's  berth,  that  one  man,  in  his  zeal  to  obtain  a  good  view,  acci- 
dentally tumbled  overboard,  amid  the  shouts  of  those  near  him,  Miss  Lind 
witnessed  this  incident,  and  was  much  alarmed.  He  was,  however,  soon  rescued, 
after  taking  to  himself  a  cold  duck  instead  of  securing  a  view  of  the  Nightingale. 
A  bower  of  green  trees,  decorated  with  beautiful  flags,  was  discovered  on  the 
wharf,  together  with  two  triumphal  arches,  on  one  of  which  was  inscribed, 
"  Welcome,  Jenny  Lind ! "  *  The  second  was  surmounted  by  the  American  eagle, 
and  bore  the  inscription,  "Welcome  to  America!"  These  decorations  were  not 
produced  by  magic,  and  I  do  not  know  that  I  can  reasonably  find  fault  with  those 

*  See  Illustration,  opposite. 

105 


106  THE  NIGHTINGALE  IN  NEW  YORK. 

who  suspected  I  had  a  hand  in  their  erection.  My  private  carriage  was  In  wait- 
ing, and  Jenny  Lind  was  escorted  to  it  by  Captain  West.  The  rest  of  the  musical 
party  entered  the  carriage,  and,  mounting  the  box  at  the  driver's  side,  I  directed 
him  to  the  Irving  House.  I  took  that  seat  as  a  legitimate  advertisement,  and  my 
presence  on  the  outside  of  the  carriage  aided  those  who  filled  the  windows  and 
sidewalks  along  the  whole  route,  in  coming  to  the  conclusion  that  Jenny  Lind 
had  arrived, 

A  reference  to  the  journals  of  that  day  will  show  that  never  before  had  there 
been  such  enthusiasm  in  the  city  of  New  York,  or  indeed  hi  America.  Within 
ten  minutes  after  our  arrival  at  the  Irving  House,  not  less  than  twenty  thousand 
persons  had  congregated  around  the  entrance  in  Broadway,  nor  was  the  number 
diminished  before  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening.  At  her  request,  I  dined  with  her 
that  afternoon,  and  when,  according  to  European  custom,  she  prepared  to  pledge 
me  in  a  glass  of  wine,  she  was  somewhat  surprised  at  my  saying,  "Miss  Lind,  I 
do  not  think  you  can  ask  any  other  favor  on  earth  which  I  would  not  gladly 
grant;  but  I  am  a  teetotaler,  and  must  beg  to  be  permitted  to  drink  your  health 
•Mid  happiness  in  a  glass  of  cold  water." 

At  twelve  o'clock  that  night,  she  was  serenaded  by  the  New  York  Musical  Fund 
Society,  numbering,  on  that  occasion,  two  hundred  musicians.  They  were 
escorted  to  the  Irving  House  by  about  three  hundred  firemen,  in  their  red  shirts, 
bearing  torches.  There  was  a  far  greater  throng  in  the  streets  than  there  was 
even  during  the  day.  The  calls  for  Jenny  Lind  were  so  vehement  that  I  led  her 
through  a  window  to  the  balcony.  The  loud  cheers  from  the  crowds  lasted  for 
several  minutes,  before  the  serenade  was  permitted  to  proceed  again. 

I  have  given  the  merest  sketch  of  but  a  portion  of  the  incidents  of  Jenny  Land's 
first  day  in  America.  For  weeks  afterwards  the  excitement  was  unabated.  Her 
rooms  were  thronged  by  visitors,  including  the  magnates  of  the  land  in  both 
Church  and  State.  The  carriages  of  the  wealthiest  citizens  could  be  seen  in  front 
of  her  hotel,  at  nearly  all  hours  of  the  day,  and  it  was  with  some  difficulty  that  I 
prevented  the  "fashionables"  from  monopolizing  her  altogether,  and  thus,  as  I 
believed,  sadly  marring  my  interests  by  cutting  her  off  from  the  warm  sympa- 
thies she  had  awakened  among  the  masses.  Presents  of  all  sorts  were  showered 
upon  her.  Milliners,  mantua-makers,  and  shopkeepers  vied  with  each  other  in 
calling  her  attention  to  their  wares,  of  which  they  sent  her  many  valuable  speci- 
mens, delighted  if,  in  return,  they  could  receive  her  autograph  acknowledgment. 
Songs,  quadrilles  and  polkas  were  dedicated  to  her,  and  poets  sung  in  her  praise. 
We  had  Jenny  Lind  gloves,  Jenny  Lind  bonnets,  Jenny  Lind  riding  hats,  Jenny 
Lind  shawls,  mantillas,  robes,  chairs,  sofas,  pianos — in  fact,  everything  was 
Jenny  Lind.  Her  movements  were  constantly  watched,  and  the  moment  her 
carriage  appeared  at  the  door,  it  was  surrounded  by  multitudes,  eager  to  catch  a 
glimpse  of  the  Swedish  Nightingale. 

In  looking  over  my  "scrap-books"  of  extracts  from  the  New  York  papers  of 
that  day,  in  which  all  accessible  details  concerning  her  were  duly  chronicled,  it 
seems  almost  incredible  that  such  a  degree  of  enthusiasm  should  have  existed. 
An  abstract  of  the  "sayings  and  doings  "  in  regard  to  the  Jenny  Lind  mania  for  the 
first  ten  days  after  her  arrival,  appeared  in  the  London  Times  of  Sept.  23,  1850, 
and,  although  it  was  an  ironical  "showing  up"  of  the  American  enthusiasm, 
filling  several  columns,  it  was  nevertheless  a  faithful  condensation  of  facts  which 
at  this  late  day  seem,  even  to  myself,  more  like  a  dream  than  reality. 

Before  her  arrival  I  had  offered  $200  for  a  prize  ode,  "  Greeting  to  America," 
to  be  sung  by  Jenny  Lind  at  her  first  concert.  Several  hundred  "poems"  were 


THE   NIGHTINGALE   IN   NEW    YORK.  10? 

sent  in  from  all  parts  of  the  United  States  and  the  Canadas.  The  duties  of  the 
Prize  Committee,  in  reading  these  effusions  and  making  choice  of  the  one  most 
worthy  the  prize,  were  truly  arduous.  The  "offerings,"  with  perhaps  a  dozen 
exceptions,  were  the  merest  doggerel  trash.  The  prize  was  awarded  to  Bayard 
Taylor  for  the  following  ode: 

GREETING  TO  AMERICA. 

WOHD8  BY  BAYARD  TAYLOB — MUSIC  BY  JULIUS    BENEDICT. 

I  GREET  with  a  full  heart  the  Land  of  the  West, 

Whose  Banner  of  Stars  o'er  a  world  is  unrolled  ; 
Whose  empire  o'ershadows  Atlantic's  wide  breast, 

And  opens  to  sunset  its  gateway  of  gold  1 
The  land  of  the  mountain,  the  land  of  the  lake, 

And  rivers  that  roll  in  magnificent  tide — 
Where  the  souls  of  the  mighty  from  slumber  awake, 

And  hallow  the  soil  for  whose  freedom  they  died  ! 

Thou  Cradle  of  empire  1  though  wide  be  the  foam 

That  severs  the  land  of  my  fathers  and  thee, 
I  hear,  from  thy  bosom,  the  welcome  of  home. 

For  song  has  a  home  in  the  hearts  of  the  Free  I 
And  long  as  thy  waters  shall  gleam  in  the  sun, 

And  long  as  thy  heroes  remember  their  scars, 
Be  the  hands  of  thy  children  united  as  one, 

And  Peace  shed  her  light  011  thy  Banner  of  Stars  I 

This  award,  although  it  gave  general  satisfaction,  yet  was  met  with  disfavor 
by  several  disappointed  poets,  who,  notwithstanding  the  decision  of  the  com- 
mittee, persisted  in  believing  and  declaring  their  own  productions  to  be  the  best. 
This  state  of  feeling  was  doubtless,  in  part,  the  cause  which  led  to  the  publication, 
about  this  time,  of  a  witty  pamphlet  entitled  "Barnum's  Parnassus;  being  Cou 
fidential  Disclosures  of  the  Prize  Committee  on  the  Jenny  Land  song." 

It  gave  some  capital  hits  in  which  the  committee,  the  enthusiastic  public,  the 
Nightingale,  and  myself,  were  roundly  ridiculed.  The  following  is  a  fair  speci- 
men from  the  work  in  question: 

BARNUMOPSIS. 

A.  RECITATIVE. 

WHEN  to  the  common  rest  that  crowns  his  days. 

Dusty  and  worn  the  tired  pedestrian  goes, 
What  light  is  that  whose  wide  o'erlooking  bla/,e 

A  sudden  glory  on  his  pathway  throws? 

'Tis  not  the  setting  sun,  whose  drooping  lid 

Closed  on  the  weary  world  at  half-past  six; 
'Tis  not  the  rising  moon,  whose  rays  are  hid 

Behind  the  city's  sombre  piles  of  bricks. 

It  is  the  Drummond  Light,  that  from  the  top 
Of  Barnum's  massive  pile,  sky-mingling  there, 

Darts  its  quick  gleam  o'er  every  shadowed  shop. 
And  gilds  Broadway  with  unaccustomed  glare. 

There  o'er  the  sordid  gloom,  whose  deep'niug  track* 

Furrow  the  city's  brow,  the  front  of  ages, 
Thy  loltier  light  descends  on  cabs  and  hacks, 

And  on  two  dozen  different  lines  of  stages! 

O  twilight  Sun,  with  thy  far  darting  ray, 

Thou  art  a  type  of  him  whose  tireless  hands 
Hung  thee  on  high  to  guide  the  stranger's  way. 

Where,  in  its  pride,  his  vast  Museum  stands. 


108  THE   NIGHTINGALE   IN   NEW    YORK. 

Him,  who  in  search  of  wonders  new  and  strange, 
Grasps  the  wide  skirts  of  Nature's  mystic  robe 

Explores  the  circles  of  eternal  change, 
And  the  dark  chambers  of  the  central  globe. 

He,  from  the  reedy  shores  ol  fabled  Nile, 
Has  brought,  thick-ribbed  anil  undent  afl  old  iron. 

That  venerable  beast,  the  crocodile, 
And  many  a  skin  of  many  a  famous  lion. 

Go  lose  thyself  in  those  continuous  halls, 
Where  strays  the  lond  papa  with  son  and  daughter: 

And  all  that  cliarms  or  startles  or  appals, 
Thou  shalt  behold,  and  fora  single  quarter. 

Far  from  the  Barcan  deserts  now  withdrawn, 
There  huge  constrictors  coil  their  scaly  backs ; 

There,  cased  in  glass,  malignant  and  unshorn, 
Old  murderers  glare  in  sullenness  and  wax. 

There  many  a  varied  form  the  sight  beguiles, 
In  rusty  broadcloth  decked  and  shocking  hat. 

And  there  the  unwieldy  Lambert  sits  and  smiles, 
In  the  majestic  plenitude  ol  fat. 

Or  for  thy  gayer  hours,  the  orang-outang 
Or  ape  salutes  thee  with  his  strange  grimace. 

And  in  their  shapes.  stuO'ed  as  on  earth  they  sprang, 
Thine  individual  being  thou  canst  trace! 

And  joys  the  youth  in  life's  green  spring,  who  goes 
With  the  sweet  babe  and  the  gray-hea'ded  nurse, 

To  see  those  Cosmoramicorbs  disclose 
The  varied  beauties  of  the  universe. 

And  last,  not  least,  the  marvelous  Ethiope, 

Changing  his  skin  by  preternatural  skill, 
Whom  «?vory  setting  sun's  diurnal  slope 

Leaves  whiter  than  the  last,  and  whitening  still 

All  that  of  monstrous,  scaly,  strange  and  queer. 
Has  come  from  out  the  womb  of  earliest  time, 

Thou  hast,  O  Biirniim,  in  thy  keeping  here, 
Nor  is  this  all— for  triumphs  more  'sublime 

Await  thee  yet!  I,  Jenny  Lind,  who  reigned 
Sublimely  throned,  the  imperial  queen  of  song, 

Wooed  by  thy  gohlen  harmonies,  have  deigned 
Captive  to  join  the  heterogeneous  throng. 

Sustained  by  an  unfaltering  trust  in  coin. 

Dealt  from  thy  hand,  O  thou  illustrious  man, 
Gladly  I  heard  the  summons  come  to  join 

Myself  the  innumerable  caravan. 

Besides  the  foregoing,  this  pamphlet  contained  eleven  poems,  most  of  \vlik-h 
abounded  in  wit.  1  have  room  but  for  a  single  stanza.  The  poet  speaks  of  the 
various  curiosities  in  the  Museum,  and,  representing  me  as  still  searching  for 
further  novelties,  makes  me  address  the  Swedish  Nightingale  as  follows: 

•'  So  Jeuny.  come  along!  you're  just  the  card  for  me. 
And  quit  these  kings  and  queens,  for  the  country  of  the  free  : 
They'll  welcome  you  with  speeches,  and  serenades,  and  rockets, 
And  you  will  touch  their  hearts,  and  I  will  tap  their  pockets  ; 
And  if  between  us  both  the  public  isn't  skinned, 
Why,  my  name  isn't  Baruum,  nor  your  name  Jenny  Lind  1" 


THE   NIGHTINGALE   IN    NEW    YORK.  109 

Among  the  many  complimentary  poems  sent  in,  was  the  following,  by  Mrs.  L. 
H.  SIGOURNEY,  which  that  distinguished  writer  enclosed  in  a  letter  to  me,  with 
the  request  that  I  should  hand  it  to  Miss  Lind: 

THE  SWEDISH  SONGSTRESS  AND  HER  CHARITIES. 

BY  MRS.   L.   H.   SIGOUBNEY. 

BLEST  must  their  vocation  be 
Who,  with  tones  of  melody, 
Charm  the  discord  and  the  strife 
And  the  railroad  rush  of  life, 
And  ^yith  Orphean  magic  move 
Souls  inert  to  life  and  love. 
But  there's  one  who  doth  inherit 
Angel  gift  and  angel  spirit, 
Bidding  tides  of  gladness  flow 
Through  the  realms  of  want  and  woe; 
'Mid  lone  age  and  misery's  lot, 
Kindling  pleasures  long  forgot, 
Seeking  minds  oppressed  with  night, 
And  on  darkness  shedding  light, 
She  the  seraph's  speech  doth  know, 
She  hath  done  their  deeds  below; 
So,  when  o'er  this  misty  strand 
She  shall  clasp  their  waiting  hand. 
They  will  fold  her  to  their  breast, 
More  a  sister  than  a  guest. 

Jenny  Liiid's  first  concert  was  fixed  to  come  off  at  Castle  Garden,  on  Wednes- 
day evening,  September  llth,  and  most  of  the  tickets  were  sold  at  auction  on  the 
Saturday  and  Monday  previous  to  the  concert.  John  N.  Genin,  the  hatter,  laid 
the  foundation  of  his  fortune  by  purchasing  the  first  ticket  at  $225.  It  has  been 
extensively  reported  that  Mr.  Genin  and  I  are  brothers-in-law,  but  our  only  rela- 
tions are  those  of  business  and  friendship.  The  proprietors  of  the  Garden  saw 
fit  to  make  the  usual  charge  of  one  shilling  to  all  persons  who  entered  the  premises, 
yet  three  thousand  people  were  present  at  the  auction.  One  thousand  tickets 
were  sold  at  auction  on  the  first  morning  for  an  aggregate  sum  of  $10,141. 

On  the  Tuesday  after  her  arrival,  I  informed  Miss  Lind  that  I  wished  to  make 
a  slight  alteration  in  our  agreement.  "  What  is  it? "  she  asked  in  surprise. 

"I  am  convinced,"  I  replied,  "that  our  enterprise  will  be  much  more  success- 
ful than  either  of  us  anticipated.  I  wish,  therefore,  to  stipulate  that  you  shall 
receive  not  only  $1,000  for  each  concert,  besides  all  the  expenses,  as  heretofore 
agreed  on,  but  after  taking  §5,500  per  night  for  expenses  and  my  services,  the 
balance  shall  be  equally  divided  between  us. 

Jenny  looked  at  me  with  astonishment.  She  could  not  comprehend  my  propo- 
sition. After  I  had  repeated  it,  and  she  fully  understood  its  import,  she  cordially 
grasped  me  by  the  hand,  and  exclaimed,  "  Mr.  Barnum,  you  are  a  gentleman  of 
honor;  you  are  generous;  it  is  just  as  Mr.  Bates  told  mo';  I  will  sing  for  you  as 
long  as  you  please ;  I  •will  sing  for  you  in  America — in  Europe — anywhere  1 " 

On  Tuesday,  September  10th,  I  informed  Miss  Lind  that,  judging  by  present 
appearances,  her  portion  of  the  proceeds  of  the  first  concert  would  amount  to 
$10,000.  She  immediately  resolved  to  devote  every  dollar  of  it  to  charity;  and, 
sending  for  Mayor  Woodhull,  she  acted  under  his  and  my  advice  in  selecting  the 
various  institutions  among  which  she  wished  the  amount  to  be  distributed. 

My  arrangements    of   the   concert-room  were    very  complete.     The   great 
parterre  and  gallery  of   Castle  Garden  were  divided  by  imaginary  lines  into 
four  compartments,  each  of  which  was  designated  by  a  lamp  of  a  different  coloi 
The  tickets  were  printed  in  colors  corresponding  with  the  location  which  the 


110  THE   2TIGHTIHGALE   IN   NEW   YOBK. 

holders  were  to  occugy,  and  one  hundred  ushers,  with  rosettes  and  bearing 
wands  ripped  with  ribBbns  of  the  several  hues,  enabled  every  individual  to  find 
his  or  her  seat  without  the  slightest  difficulty.  Every  seat  was  of  course  num- 
bered in  color  to  correspond  with  the  check,  which  each  person  retained  after 
giving  up  an  entrance  ticket  at  the  door.  Thus,  tickets,  checks,  lamps,  rosettes, 
wands,  and  even  the  seat  numbers  were  all  in  the  appropriate  colors  to  designate 
the  different  departments.  These  arrangements  were  duly  advertised,  and  every 
particular  was  also  printed  upon  each  ticket.  In  order  to  prevent  confusion,  the 
doors  were  opened  at  five  o'clock,  while  the  concert  did  not  commence  until  eight. 
The  consequence  was,  that  although  about  five  thousand  persons  were  present  at 
the  first  concert,  their  entrance  was  marked  with  as  much  order  and  quiet  as  was 
ever  witnessed  in  the  assembling  of  a  congregation  at  church.  These  precautions 
were  observed  at  all  the  concerts  given  throughout  the  country  under  my  admin- 
istration, and  the  good  order  which  always  prevailed  was  the  subject  of  number- 
less encomiums  from  the  public  and  the  press. 

The  reception  of  Jenny  Lind  on  her  first  appearance,  in  point  of  enthusiasm, 
was  probably  never  before  equalled.  As  Mr.  Benedict  led  her  towards  the  foot- 
lights, the  entire  audience  rose  to  their  feet  and  welcomed  her  with  three  cheers, 
accompanied  by  the  waving  of  thousands  of  hats  and  handkerchiefs.  This  was 
pciuu^  Lue  largest  audience  to  which  Jenny  Lind  had  ever  sung.  She  was 
evidently  much  agitated,  but  the  orchestra  commenced,  and  before  she  had  sung 
a  dozen  notes  of  "  Casta  Diva,"  she  began  to  recover  her  self-possession,  and  long 
before  the  scena  was  concluded,  she  was  as  calm  as  if  she  was  in  her  own  draw- 
ing-room. Towards  the  last  portion  of  the  caratina,  the  audience  were  so 
completely  carried  away  by  their  feelings,  that  the  remainder  of  the  air  was 
drowned  in  a  perfect  tempest  of  acclamation.  Enthusiasm  had  been  wrought  to 
its  highest  pitch,  but  the  musical  powers  of  Jenny  Lind  exceeded  all  the  brilliant 
inticipations  which  had  been  formed,  and  her  triumph  was  complete.  At  the 
conclusion  of  the  concert  Jenny  Lind  was  loudly  called  for,  and  was  obliged  to 
appear  three  times  before  the  audience  could  be  satisfied.  Then  they  called 
vociferously  for  "  Barnum,"  and  I  reluctantly  responded  to  their  demand. 

On  this  first  night,  Mr.  Julius  Benedict  firmly  established  with  the  American 
people  his  European  reputation,  as  a  most  accomplished  conductor  and  musical 
composer;  while  Signor  Belletti  inspired  an  admiration  which  grew  warmer  and 
deeper  in  the  minds  of  the  public,  to  the  end  of  his  career  in  this  country. 

The  Rubicon  was  passed.  The  successful  issue  of  the  Jenny  Lind  enterprise 
was  established.  I  think  there  were  a  hundred  men  in  New  York,  the  day  after 
her  first  concert,  who  would  have  willingly  paid  me  $200,000  for  my  contract.  I 
received  repeated  offers  for  an  eighth,  a  tenth,  or  a  sixteenth,  equivalent  to  that 
price.  But  mine  had  been  the  risk,  and  I  was  determined  mine  should  be  the 
triumph. 

The  amount  of  money  received  for  tickets  to  the  first  concert  was  $17,864.05, 
As  this  made  Miss  Land's  portion  too  small  to  realize  the  $10,000  which  had  been 
announced  as  devoted  to  charity,  I  proposed  to  divide  equally  with  her  the 
proceeds  of  the  first  two  concerts,  and  not  count  them  at  all  in  our  regular 
engagement.  Accordingly,  the  second  concert  was  given  September  13th,  and 
the  receipts,  amounting  to  $14,203.03,  were,  like  those  of  the  first  concert,  equally 
divided.  Our  third  concert,  but  which,  as  between  ourselves,  we  called  the  "first 
regular  concert,"  was  given  Tuesday,  September  17,  1850. 


CHAP  TEE   XI X. 

SUCCESSFUL   MANAGEMENT. 

THE  first  great  assembly  at  Castle  Garden  was  not  gathered  by  Jenny  Lind's 
musical  genius  and  powers  alone.  She  was  effectually  introduced  to  the  public 
before  they  had  seen  or  heard  her.  She  appeared  in  the  presence  of  a  jury 
already  excited  to  enthusiasm  in  her  behalf.  She  more  than  met  their  expecta- 
tions, and  all  the  means  I  had  adopted  to  prepare  the  way  were  thus  abundantly 
justified. 

As  a  manager,  I  worked  by  setting  others  to  work.  Biographies  of  the 
Swedish  Nightingale  were  largely  circulated;  "Foreign  Correspondence "  glori- 
fied her  talents  and  triumphs  by  narratives  of  her  benevolence;  and  "printer's 
ink  "  was  invoked  in  every  possible  form,  to  put  and  keep  Jenny  Lind  before  the 
people.  I  am  happy  to  say  that  the  press  generally  echoed  the  voice  of  her 
praise  from  first  to  last.  I  could  fill  many  volumes  with  the  printed  extracts 
which  are  nearly  all  of  a  similar  tenor  to  the  following  unbought,  unsolicited 
editorial  article,  which  appeared  in  the  New  York  Herald  of  Sept.  10,  1850  (the 
day  before  the  first  concert  given  by  Miss  Lind  in  the  United  States) : 

"JENNY  LIND  AND  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE.—  What  ancient  monarch  was  he,  either  in 
history  or  in  fable,  who  offered  half  his  kingdom  (the  price  of  box-tickets  and  choice 
seats  in  those  days)  for  the  invention  of  an  original  sensation,  or  the  discovery  of  a  fresh 
pleasure?  That  sensation — that  pleasure  which  royal  power  in  the  Old  World  failed  to  dis- 
cover— has  been  called  into  existence  at  a  less  price,  by  Mr.  Barnum,  a  plain  republican, 
and  is  now  about  to  be  enjoyed  by  the  sovereigns  of  the  N*w  World. 

"Jenny  Lind,  the  most  remarkable  phenomenon  in  the  musical  art  which  has  for  the  .ast 
century  flashed  across  the  horizon  of  the  Old  World,  is  now  among  us,  and  will  make  her 
debut  to-morrow  night  to  a  house  of  nearly  ten  thousand  listeners,  yielding  in  proceeds  by 
auction,  a  sum  of  forty  or  fifty  thousand  dollars.  For  the  last  ten  clays  our  musical  report- 
ers have  furnished  our  readers  with  every  matter  connected  with  her  arrival  in  this 
metropolis,  and  the  steps  adopted  by  Mr.  Barnum  in  preparation  for  her  first  appearance. 
The  proceedings  of  yesterday,  consisting  of  the  sale  of  the  remainder  of  the  tickets,  and 
the  astonishing,  the  wonderful  sensation  produced  at  her  first  rehearsal  on  the  few  persons, 
critics  in  musical  art,  who  were  admitted  on  the  occasion,  will  be  found  elsewhere  in  our 
columns. 

"We  concur  in  everything  that  has  been  said  by  our  musical  reporter,  describing  her 
extraordinary  genius — her  unrivalled  combination  of  power  and  art.  Nothing  has  been 
exaggerated,  not  an  iota.  Three  years  ago,  more  or  less,  we  heard  Jenny  Lind  on  many 
occasions,  when  she  made  the  first  great  sensation  in  Europe,  by  her  debut  at  the  London 
Opera  House.  Then  she  was  great  in  power— in  art— in  genius  ;  now  she  is  greater  in  all. 
We  speak  from  experience  and  conviction.  Then  she  astonished,  and  pleased,  and  fascin- 
ated the  thousands  of  the  British  aristocracy;  now  she  will  fascinate,  and  please,  and 
delight,  and  almost  make  mad  with  musical  excitement,  the  mill  ons  of  the  American 
democracy.  To-morrow  night,  this  new  sensation— this  fresh  movement— this  excitement 
excelling  all  former  excitements — will  be  called  into  existence,  when  she  pours  out  the 
notes  of  Casta  Diva,  and  exhibits  her  astonishing  powers— her  wonderful  peculiarities, 
that  seem  more  of  heaven  than  of  earth— more  of  a  voice  from  eternity,  than  from  the 
lips  of  a  human  being. 

"  We  speak  soberly — seriously — calmly.  The  public  expectation  has  run  very  high  for 
the  last  week— higher  than  at  any  former  period  of  our  past  musical  annals.  But  high  as  it 
has  risen,  the  reality— the  fact— the  concert — the  voice  and  power  of  Jenny  Lind — will  far 
surpass  all  past  expectations.  Jenny  Lind  is  a  wonder,  and  a  prodigy  in  song— and  no 
mistake." 

After  the  first  month  the  business  became  thoroughly  systematized,  and  by  the 
help  of  such  agents  as  my  faithful  treasurer,  L.  C.  Stewart,  and  the  indefatiga- 
ble Le  Grand  Smith,  my  personal  labors  were  materially  relieved;  but  from  the 

111 


112  SUCCESSFUL   MAXAGEMENT. 

first  concert  on  the  llth  of  September,  1850,  until  the  ninety-third  concert  on  the 
9th  of  June  1851,  a  space  of  nine  months,  I  did  not  know  a  waking  moment  that 
was  entirely  free  from  anxiety. 

I  could  not  hope  to  be  exempted  from  trouble  and  perplexity  in  managing  an 
enterprise  •which  depended  altogether  on  popular  favor,  and  which  involved  great 
consequences  to  myself.  Miss  Lind  did  not  dream,  nor  did  any  one  else,  of  the 
unparalleled  enthusiasm  that  would  greet  her;  and  the  first  immense  assembly  at 
Castle  Garden  somewhat  prepared  her,  I  suspect,  to  listen  to  evil  advisers.  It 
would  seem  that  the  terms  of  our  revised  contract  were  sufficiently  liberal  to  her 
and  sufficiently  hazardous  to  myself,  to  justify  the  expectation  of  perfectly  hon- 
orable treatment;  but  certain  envious  intermeddlers  appeared  to  think  differently. 
"Do  you  not  see,  Miss  Lind,  that  Mr.  Barnum  is  coining  money  out  of  your 
genius? "  said  they;  of  course  she  saw  it,  but  the  high-minded  Swede  despised 
and  spurned  the  advisers  who  recommended  her  to  repudiate  her  contract  with 
me  at  all  hazards,  and  take  the  enterprise  into  her  own  hands — possibly  to  put  it 
into  theirs.  I,  however,  suffered  much  from  the  unreasonable  interference  of  her 
lawyer,  Mr.  John  Jay.  Benedict  and  Belletti  behaved  like  men,  and  Jenny 
afterwards  expressed  to  me  her  regret  that  she  had  for  a  moment  listened  to  the 
vexatious  exactions  of  her  legal  counselor. 

To  show  the  difficulties  with  which  I  had  to  contend  thus  early  in  my  enter- 
prise, I  copy  a  letter  which  I  wrote,  a  little  more  than  one  month  after  Miss  Lind 
commenced  her  engagement  with  me,  to  my  Mend  Mr.  Joshua  Bates,  of  Messrs. 
Baring,  Brothers  &  Co.,  London: 

NEW  YORK,  Oct.  23,  1850. 
JOSHUA  BATES,  ESQ.  : 

Dear  Sir  :  I  take  the  liberty  to  write  you  a  few  lines,  merely  to  say  that  we  are  getting 
along  as  well  as  could  reasonably  be  expected.  In  this  country  you  are  aware  that  the 
rapid  accumulation  of  wealth  always  creates  much  envy,  and  envy  soon  augments  to 
malice.  Such  are  the  elements  at  work  to  a  limited  degree  asrainst  myself,  and  although 
Miss  Lind,  Benedict  and  myself  have  never,  as  yet.  had  the  slightest  feelings  between  us, 
to  my  knowledge,  except  those  of  friendship,  yet  I  cannot  weil  see  how  this  can  long  con- 
tinue in  the  face  of  the  facf  that,  nearly  every  day  they  allow  persons  (some  moving  in  the 
first  classes  of  society)  to  approach  them,  and  spend  hours  in  traducing  me  :  even  her 
attoni'-y,  Mr.  John  Jay.  has  been  so  blind  to  her  interests,  as  to  aid  in  poisoning  her  mind 
against  me,  by  pouring  into  her  ears  the  most  silly  twaddle,  all  of  which  amounts  to  noth- 
ing and  less  than  nothing — such  as  the  regret  thai  1  was  a  showman,  exhibitor  of  Tom 
Thumb,  etc..  etc. 

Without  the  elements  which  I  possess  for  business,  as  well  as  my  knowledge  of  human 
nature,  acquired  in  catering  for  the  public,  the  result  of  her  concerts  here  would  not  have 
been  pecuniarily  one-half  as  much  as  the  present — and  such  men  as  the  Hon.  Edward 
Everett.  G.  G.  Rowland,  and  others,  will  tell  you  that  there  is  no  charlatanism  or  lack  ol 
dignity  in  my  management  of  these  concerts.  I  know  as  well  as  any  person,  that  the 
merits  of  Jenny  Lind  f.re  the  best  capital  to  depend  upon  to  secure  public  favor,  and  I  have 
thus  far  acted  on  this  knowledge.  Everything  which  money  and  attention  can  procure  for 
their  comfort,  they  have,  and  I  am  srlad  to  know  that  they  are  satisfied  on  this  score.  All 
I  fear  is.  that  these  continual  backbitings.  if  listened  to  by  her.  will,  by  and  by,  produce  a 
feeling  of  distrust  or  regret,  which  will  lead  to  unpleasant  results. 

%  The  fact  is.  her  mind  ought  to  be  as  free  as  air,  and  she  herself  as  free  as  a  bird,  and 
being  satisfied  of  my  probity  and  ability,  she  should  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  all  envious  and 
malevolent  attacks  on  me.  I  have  hoped  that  by  thus  briefly  stating  to  you  the  facts  in  the 
case,  you  mi«rht  be  induced  for  her  interests  as  well  as  mine  to  drop  a  One  of  advice  to  Mr. 
Benedict  and  another  to  Mr.  Jay  on  thi<  subject.  If  I  am  asking  or  expecting  too  much.  I 
pray  you  to  not  give  it  a  thought,  for  I  feel  myself  fully  able  to  carry  through  my  rights  alone, 
although  I  should  deplore  nothing  so  much  as  to  be  obliged  to  do  so  in  a  feelin"!;  of  unfriend- 
liness. I  have  risked  much  money  on  the  issue  of  this  speculation— it  has  proved  - 
ful.  lam  full  of  perplexity  and  anxiety,  and  labor  continually  for  success,  and  I  cannot 
allow  ignorance  or  envy  to  rob  me  of  the  fruits  of  my  enterprise. 

Sincerely  and  gratefully,  yours,  P.  T.  BARNUM. 

Jenny  Land's  character  for  benevolence  became  so  generally  known,  that  her 
door  was  beset  by  persons  asking  charity,  and  she  was  in  the  receipt,  while  in  the 


SUCCESSFUL  MANAGEMENT.  113 

principal  cities,  of  numerous  letters,  all  oil  the  same  subject.  I  knew  of  many 
instances  in  which  she  gave  sums  of  money  to  applicants,  varying  in  amount 
from  $20,  $50,  $500,  to  $1,000,  and  in  one  instance  she  gave  $5,000  to  a  Swedish 
friend. 

The  night  after  Jenny's  arrival  in  Boston,  a  display  of  fireworks  was  given  in 
her  honor,  in  front  of  the  Revere  House,  after  which  followed  a  beautiful  torch- 
light procession  by  the  Germans  of  that  city. 

On  her  return  from  Boston  to  New  York,  Jenny,  her  companion,  and  Messrs 
Benedict  and  Belletti,  stopped  at  Iranistan,  my  residence  in  Bridgeport,  where  they 
remained  until  the  following  day.  The  morning  after  her  arrival,  she  took  my  arm 
and  proposed  a  promenade  through  the  grounds.  She  seemed  much  pleased,  and 
said,  "  I  am  astonished  that  you  should  have  left  such  a  beautiful  place  for  the 
sake  of  traveling  through  the  country  with  me." 

The  same  day  she  told  me  in  a  playful  mood,  that  she  had  heard  a  most  extra- 
ordinary report.  "I  have  heard  that  you  and  I  are  about  to  be  married,"  said 
she;  "now  how  could  such  an  absurd  report  ever  have  originated? " 

"Probably  from  the  fact  that  we  are  'engaged,'"  I  replied.  She  enjoyed  a 
joke,  and  laughed  heartily. 

"Do  you  know,  Mr.  Barmun,"  said  she,  "  that  if  you  had  not  built  Iranistan,  I 
should  never  have  come  to  America  for  you?" 

I  expressed  my  surprise,  and  asked  her  to  explain. 

"  I  had  received  several  applications  to  visit  the  United  States,"  she  continued, 
"but  I  did  not  much  like  the  appearance  of  the  applicants,  nor  did  I  relish  the 
idea  of  crossing  3,000  miles  of  ocean;  so  I  declined  them  all.  But  the  first  letter 
which  Mr.  Wilton,  your  agent,  addressed  me,  was  written  upon  a  sheet  headed 
with  a  beautiful  engraving  of  Iranistan.  It  attracted  my  attention.  I  said  to 
myself,  a  gentleman  who  has  been  so  successful  in  his  business  as  to  be  able  to  build 
and  reside  in  such  a  palace  cannot  be  a  mere  '  adventurer.'  So  I  wrote  to  your 
agent,  and  consented  to  an  interview,  which  I  should  have  declined,  if  I  had  not 
seen  the  picture  of  Iranistan!" 

"That,  then,  fully  pays  me  for  building  it,"  I  replied. 

Jenny  Lind  always  desired  to  reach  a  place  in  which  she  was  to  sing,  without 
having  the  time  of  her  arrival  known,  thus  avoiding  the  excitement  of  promiscu- 
ous crowds.  As  a  manager,  however,  I  knew  that  the  interests  of  the  enterprise 
depended  in  a  great  degree  upon  these  excitements. 

On  reaching  Philadelphia,  a  large  concourse  of  persons  awaited  the  approach  of 
the  steamer  which  conveyed  her.  With  difficulty  we  pressed  through  the  crowd, 
and  were  followed  by  many  thousands  to  Jones's  Hotel.  The  street  in  front  of 
the  building  was  densely  packed  by  the  populace,  and  poor  Jenny,  who  was  suf- 
fering from  a  severe  headache,  retired  to  her  apartments.  I  tried  to  induce  the 
crowd  to  disperse,  but  they  declared  they  would  not  do  so  until  Jenny  Lind  should 
appear  on  the  balcony.  I  would  not  disturb  her,  and,  knowing  that  the  tumult 
might  prove  an  annoyance  to  her,  I  placed  her  bonnet  and  shawl  upon  her  com- 
panion, Miss  Ahmansen,  and  led  her  out  on  the  balcony.  She  bowed  gracefully 
to  the  multitude,  who  gave  her  three  hearty  cheers  and  quietly  dispersed.  Miss 
Land  was  so  utterly  averse  to  anything  like  deception,  that  we  never  ventured  to 
tell  her  the  part  which  her  bonnet  and  shawl  had  played  in  the  absence  of  then- 
owner. 

Jenny  was  in  the  habit  of  attending  church  whenever  she  could  do  so  without 
attracting  notice.  She  always  preserved  her  nationality,  also,  by  inquiring  out 


114  SUCCESSFUL  MANAGEMENT. 

aiid  attending  Swedish  churches  wherever  they  could  be  found.  She  gave 
$1,000  to  a  Swedish  church  in  Chicago. 

My  eldest  daughter,  Caroline,  and  her  Mend,  Mrs.  Lyman,  of  Bridgeport, 
accompanied  me  on  the  tour  from  New  York  to  Havana,  and  thence  home,  via 
New  Orleans  and  the  Mississippi. 

We  were  at  Baltimore  on  the  Sabbath,  and  my  daughter,  accompanying  a 
friend,  who  resided  in  the  city,  to  church,  took  a  seat  with  her  in  the  choir,  and 
joined  in  the  singing.  A  number  of  the  congregation,  who  had  seen  Caroline 
with  me  the  day  previous,  and  supposed  her  to  be  Jenny  Land,  were  yet  laboring 
under  the  same  mistake,  and  it  was  soon  whispered  through  the  church  that 
Jenny  Land  was  in  the  choir!  The  excitement  was  worked  to  its  highest  pitch 
when  my  daughter  rose  as  one  of  the  musical  group.  Every  ear  was  on  the  alert 
to  catch  the  first  notes  of  her  voice,  and  when  she  sang,  glances  of  satisfaction 
passed  through  the  assembly.  Caroline,  quite  unconscious  of  the  attention  she 
attracted,  continued  to  sing  to  the  end  of  the  hymn.  Not  a  note  was  lost  upon 
the  ears  of  the  attentive  congregation.  "  What  an  exquisite  singer ! "  "  Heavenly 
sounds!"  "I  never  heard  the  like!"  and  similar  expressions  were  whispered 
through  the  church. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  services,  my  daughter  and  her  friend  found  the  passage- 
way to  their  carriage  blocked  by  a  crowd  who  were  anxious  to  obtain  a  nearer 
view  of  the  "  Swedish  Nightingale."  The  pith  of  the  joke  is  that  we  have  never 
discovered  that  my  daughter  has  any  extraordinary  claims  as  a  vocalist. 

Our  orchestra  in  New  York  consisted  of  sixty.  When  we  started  on  our  south- 
ner  tour,  we  took  with  us  permanently  as  the  orchestra,  twelve  of  the  best 
musicians  we  could  select,  and  in  New  Orleans  augmented  the  force  to  sixteen. 
We  increased  the  number  to  thirty-five,  forty  or  fifty,  as  the  case  might  be,  by 
choice  of  musicians  residing  where  the  concerts  were  given.  On  our  return  to 
New  York  from  Havana,  we  enlarged  the  orchestra  to  one  hundred  performers. 

The  morning  after  our  arrival  in  Washington,  President  Fillmore  called,  and 
left  his  card,  Jenny  being  out.  When  she  returned  and  found  the  token  of  his 
attention,  she  was  in  something  of  a  flurry.  "  Come,"  said  she,  "we  must  call 
on  the  President  immediately." 

"  Why  so  ?"  I  inquired. 

"  Because  he  has  called  on  me,  and  of  course  that  is  equivalent  to  a  command 
for  me  to  go  to  his  house." 

I  assured  her  that  she  might  make  her  mind  at  ease,  for  whatever  might  be  the 
custom  with  crowned  heads,  our  Presidents  were  not  wont  to  "  command  "  the 
movements  of  strangers,  and  that  she  would  be  quite  in  time  if  she  returned  his 
call  the  next  day.  She  was  accompanied  to  the  "  White  House  "  by  Messrs.  Bene- 
dict, Belletti  and  myself,  and  several  happy  hours  were  spent  in  the  private  circle 
of  the  President's  family. 

Both  concerts  in  Washington  were  attended  by  the  President  and  his  family, 
and  every  member  of  the  Cabinet.  I  noticed,  also,  among  the  audience,  Henry 
Clay,  Benton,  Foote,  Cass  and  General  Scott,  and  nearly  every  member  of  Con- 
gress. On  the  following  morning,  Miss  Land  was  called  upon  by  Mr,  Webster, 
Mr.  Clay,  General  Cass,  and  Colonel  Benton,  and  all  parties  were  evidently 
gratified.  I  had  introduced  Mr.  Webster  to  her  in  Boston.  Upon  hearing  one  of 
her  wild  mountain  songs  in  New  York,  and  also  in  Washington,  Mr.  Webster 
signified  his  approval  by  rising,  drawing  himself  up  to  his  full  height,  and  making 
a  profound  bow.  Jenny  was  delighted  by  this  expression  of  praise  from  the  great 
statesman.  When  I  first  introduced  Miss  Land  to  Mr.  Webster,  at  the  Revera 


SUCCESSFUL   MANAGEMENT.  115 

House,  in  Boston  she  was  greatly  impressed  with  his  manners  and  conversation, 
and  after  his  departure,  walked  up  and  down  the  room  in  great  excitement, 
exclaiming:  "  Ahi  Mr.  Bamum,  that  is  a  man;  I  have  never  before  seen  such  a 
man!" 

We  visited  the  Capitol  while  both  Houses  were  in  session.  Miss  Lind  took  the 
arm  of  Hon.  C.  P.  Cleveland,  representative  from  Connecticut,  and  was  by  him 
escorted  into  various  pans  of  the  Capitol  and  the  grounds,  with  all  of  which  she 
was  much  pleased. 

During  the  week  I  was  invited  with  Miss  Lind  and  her  immediate  friends,  to 
visit  Mount  Vernon,  with  Colonel  Washington,  the  then  proprietor,  and  Mr. 
Seaton,  ex-Mayor  of  Washington,  and  editor  of  the  Intelligencer.  Colonel 
Washington  chartered  a  steamboat  for  the  purpose.  We  were  landed  a  short 
distance  from  the  tomb,  which  we  first  visited.  Proceeding  to  the  house,  we  were 
introduced  to  Mrs.  Washington,  and  several  other  ladies.  Much  interest  was 
manifested  by  Miss  Lind  in  examining  the  mementoes  of  the  great  man  whose 
home  it  had  been.  A  beautiful  collation  was  spread  out  and  arranged  in  fine 
taste.  Before  leaving,  Mrs.  Washington  presented  Jenny  with  a  book  from  the 
library,  with  the  name  of  Washington  written  by  his  own  hand.  She  was  much 
overcome  at  receiving  this  present,  called  me  aside,  and  expressed  her  desire  to 
give  something  in  return.  "  I  have  nothing  with  me,"  she  said,  "  excepting  this 
watch  and  chain,  and  I  will  give  that  if  you  think  it  will  be  acceptable."  I  knew 
the  watch  was  very  valuable,  and  told  her  that  so  costly  a  present  would  not  be 
expected,  nor  would  it  be  proper.  "  The  expense  is  nothing,  compared  to  the 
value  of  that  book,"  she  replied,  with  deep  emotion;  "but  as  the  watch  was  a 
present  from  a  near  friend,  perhaps  I  should  not  give  it  away."  Jenny  Lind,  I 
am  sure,  never  forgot  the  pleasurable  emotions  of  that  day. 

The  voyage  from  Wilmington  to  Charleston  was  an  exceedingly  rough  and 
perilous  one.  We  were  about  thirty-six  hours  in  making  the  passage,  the  usual 
time  being  seventeen.  We  arrived  safely  at  last,  and  I  was  grieved  to  learn  that 
for  twelve  hours  the  loss  of  the  steamer  had  been  considered  certain,  and  had 
even  been  announced  by  telegraph  in  the  Northern  cities. 

We  remained  at  Charleston  about  ten  days,  to  take  the  steamer  "  Isabella  "  on 
her  regular  trip  to  Havana.  Jenny  had  been  through  so  much  excitement  at  the 
North,  that  she  determined  to  have  quiet  here,  and  therefore  declined  receiving 
any  calls.  One  young  lady,  the  daughter  of  a  wealthy  planter  near  Augusta, 
was  so  determined  upon  seeing  her  in  private,  that  she  paid  one  of  the  servants 
to  allow  her  to  put  on  a  cap  and  white  apron,  and  carry  in  the  tray  for  Jenny's 
tea,  I  afterwards  told  Miss  Lind  of  the  joke,  and  suggested  that  after  such  an 
evidence  of  admiration,  she  should  receive  a  call  from  the  young  lady. 

"It  is  not  admiration — it  is  only  curiosity,"  replied  Jenny,  "and  I  will  not 
encourage  such  folly." 

Christmas  was  at  hand,  and  Jenny  Lind  determined  to  honor  it  in  the  way  she 
had  often  done  in  Sweden.  She  had  a  beautiful  Christmas  tree  privately  pre- 
pared, and  from  its  boughs  depended  a  variety  of  presents  for  members  of  the 
company.  These  gifts  were  encased  in  paper,  with  the  names  of  the  recipients 
written  on  each. 

After  spending  a  pleasant  evening  in  her  drawing-room,  she  invited  us  into  the 
parlor,  where  the  "surprise"  awaited  us.  Each  person  commenced  opening  the 
packages  bearing  his  or  her  address,  and  although  every  individual  had  one  or 
more  pretty  presents,  she  had  prepared  a  joke  for  each.  Mr.  Benedict,  for  instance, 
took  off  wrapper  after  wrapper  from  one  of  his  packages,  which  at  first  was  as 


116  SUCCESSFUL  MANAGEMENT. 

large  as  his  head,  but  after  having  removed  some  forty  coverings  of  paper,  it  was 
reef  need  to  a  size  smaller  than  his  hand,  and  the  removal  of  the  last  envelope 
exposed  to  view  a  piece  of  cavendish  tobacco.  One  of  my  presents,  choicely 
wrapped  in  a  dozen  coverings,  was  a  jolly  young  Bacchus  in  Parian  marble, 
inter iled  as  a  pleasant  hit  at  my  temperance  principles! 

Thvi  night  before  New  Year's  day  was  spent  in  her  apartment  with  great  hilarity. 
Enlivened  by  music,  singing,  dancing  and  story-telling,  the  hours  glided  swiftly 
awaj .  Miss  Lind  asked  me  if  I  would  dance  with  her.  I  told  her  my  education 
had  been  neglected  in  that  line,  and  that  I  had  never  danced  in  my  life.  "  That 
is  all  the  better,"  said  she;  "now  dance  with  me  in  a  cotillion.  I  am  sure  you 
can  do  it."  She  was  a  beautiful  dancer,  and  I  never  saw  her  laugh  more  heartily 
than  she  did  at  my  awkwardness.  She  said  she  would  give  me  the  credit  of  being 
the  poorest  dancer  she  ever  sawl 

I  had  arranged  with  a  man  in  New  York  to  transport  furniture  to  Havana, 
provide  a  house,  and  board  Jenny  Lind  and  our  immediate  party  during  our  stay. 
When  we  arrived,  we  found  the  building  converted  into  a  semi-hotel,  and  the 
apartments  were  anything  but  comfortable.  Jenny  was  vexed.  Soon  after  din- 
ner, she  took  a  volante  and  an  interpreter,  and  drove  into  the  suburbs.  She  was 
absent  four  hours.  Whither  or  why  she  had  gone,  none  of  us  knew.  At  length 
she  returned  and  informed  us  that  she  had  hired  a  commodious  furnished  house 
in  a  delightful  location  outside  the  walls  of  the  city,  and  invited  us  all  to  go  and 
live  with  her  during  our  stay  in  Havana,  and  we  accepted  the  invitation.  She 
was  now  freed  from  all  annoyances;  her  time  was  her  own,  she  received  no  calls, 
went  and  came  when  she  pleased,  had  no  meddlesome  advisers  about  her,  legal  or 
otherwise,  and  was  as  merry  as  a  cricket.  We  had  a  large  court-yard  in  the  rear 
of  the  house,  and  here  she  would  come  and  romp  and  run,  sing  and  laugh,  like  a 
young  school-girL  "  Now,  Mr.  Barnum,  for  another  game  of  ball,"  she  would 
say  half  a  dozen  times  a  day;  whereupon,  she  would  take  an  india-rubber  ball, 
(of  which  she  had  two  or  three),  and  commence  a  game  of  throwing  and  catching, 
which  would  be  kept  up  until,  being  completely  tired  out,  I  would  say,  "  I  give  it 
up."  Then  her  rich,  musical  laugh  would  be  heard  ringing  through  the  house,  as 
she  exclaimed,  "  Oh,  Mr.  Barnum,  you  are  too-fat  and  too  lazy;  you  cannot  stand 
it  to  play  ball  with  me! " 

Her  celebrated  countrywoman,  Miss  Frederika  Bremer,  spent  a  few  days  with 
us  very  pleasantly,  and  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  of  a  more  delightful  month  than 
was  passed  by  the  entire  party  at  Jenny  Land's  house  in  the  outskirts  of  Havana. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

INCIDENTS   OF   THE   TOUK. 

SOON  after  arriving  in  Havana,  1  discovered  that  a  strong  prejudice  existed 
against  our  musical  enterprise.  I  might  rather  say  that  the  Habaneros,  not 
accustomed  to  the  high  figure  which  tickets  had  commanded  in  the  States, 
were  determined  on  forcing  me  to  adopt  their  opera  prices;  whereas  I  paid  one 
thousand  dollars  per  night  for  the  Tacon  Opera  House,  and  other  expenses  being 
in  proportion,  I  was  determined  to  receive  remunerating  prices  or  give  no  con- 
certs. They  attended  the  concert,  but  were  determined  to  show  the  great  song- 
stress no  favor.  I  perfectly  understood  this  feeling  in  advance,  but  studiously 
kept  all  knowledge  of  it  from  Miss  Land.  I  went  to  the  first  concert,  therefore, 
with  some  misgivings  in  regard  to  her  reception.  The  following,  which  I  copy 
from  the  Havana  correspondence  of  the  New  York  Tribune,  gives  a  correct 
account  of  it: 

********* 

"  Jenny  Lind  soon  appeared,  led  on  by  Signer  Belletti.  Some  three  or  four  hundred  per 
sons  clapped  their  hands  at  her  appearance,  but  this  token  of  approbation  was  instantly 
silenced  by  at  least  two  thousand  live  hundred  decided  hisses.  Thus  having  settled  the 
matter  that  there  should  be  no  forestalling  of  public  opinion,  and  that  if  applause  was 
given  to  Jenny  Lind  in  that  house  it  should  first  be  incontestably  earned,  the  most  solemn 
silence  prevailed.  I  have  heard  the  Swedish  Nightingale  often  in  Europe  as  well  as  in 
America,  and  have  ever  noticed  a  distinct  tremulousness  attending  her  first  appearance  in 
any  city.  Indeed  this  feeling  was  plainly  manifested  in  her  countenance  as  she  neared  the 
foot-lights;  but  when  she  witnessed  the  kind  of  reception  in  store  for  her — so  different 
from  anything  she  had  reason  to  expect — her  countenance  changed  in  an  instant  to  a 
haughty  self-possession,  her  eyes  flashed  defiance,  and,  becoming  immovable  us  a  statue, 
she  stood  there  perfectly  calm  and  beautilul.  She  was  satisfied  that  she  now  had  an  ordea! 
to  pass  and  a  victory  to  gain  worthy  of  her  powers.  In  a  moment  her  eye  scanned  the 
immense  audience,  the  music  began  alid  then  followed — how  can  I  describe  it  ? — such 
heavenly  strains  as  I  verily  believe  mortal  never  breathed  except  Jenny  Lind,  and  mortal 
never  heard  except  from  her  lips.  Some  of  the  oldest  Castilians  kept  a  frown  upon  their 
brow  and  a  curling  sneer  upon  their  lips  ;  their  ladies,  however,  and  most  of  the  audience 
began  to  look  surprised.  The  gushing  melody  flowed  on,  increasing  in  beauty  and  glory. 
Tlie  caballerot,  the  svnoras  •An<\'se/iorit<ts  began  to  look  at  each  other;  nearly  all.  however, 
kept  tln'ir  teeth  clenched  and  their  lips  closed,  evidently  determined  to  resist  to  the  last. 
The  torrent  flowed  deeper  and  faster,  the  lark  flew  higher  and  higher,  the  melody  grew 
richer  and  grander  ;  still  every  lip  was  compressed.  By  and  by,  as  the  rich  notes  came 
dashing  in  rivers  upon  our  enraptured  ears,  one  poor  critic  involuntarily  whispered  a  '  brava.' 
This  outburst  in;;  of  the  soul  was  instantly  hissed  down.  The  stream  of  harmony  rolled  on 
till,  at  the  close,  it  made  a  clean  sweep  of  every  obstacle,  and  carried  all  before  it.  Not  a 
vestige  of  opposition  remained,  but  such  a  tremendous  shout  of  applause  aa  went  up  I 
never  before  heard. 

•'  The  triumph  was  most  complete.  And  how  was  Jenny  Lind  affected?  She  who  stood 
a  few  moments  previous  like  adamant,  now  trembled  like  a  reed  in  the  wind  before  the 
storm  of  enthusiasm  which  her  own  simple  notes  had  produced.  Tremblingly,  slowly,  and 
almost  bowing  her  face  to  the  ground,  she  withdrew.  The  roar  and  applause  of  victory 
increased.  ''Encore!  encore!  encore!''  came  from  every  lip.  She  asain  appeared,  and 
courtesying  low,  again  withdrew;  but  again,  again  and  again  did  they  call  her  out  and  at 
every  appearance  the  thunders  of  applause  rang  louder  and  louder.  Thus  five  times  was 
Jenny  Lind  called  out  to  receive  their  unanimous  and  deafening  plaudits." 

I  cannot  express  what  my  feelings  were  as  I  watched  this  scene  from  the  dress 
circle.  Poor  Jenny!  I  deeply  sympathized  with  her  when  I  heard  that  first 
hiss.  I  indeed  observed  the  resolute  bearing  which  she  assumed,  but  was  appre- 
hensive of  the  result.  When  I  witnessed  her  triumph,  I  could  not  restrain  the 

117 


118  INCIDENTS   OF  THE   TOUR. 

tears  of  joy  that  rolled  down  my  cheeks;  and  rushing  through  a  private  box,  I 
reached  the  stage  just  as  she  was  withdrawing  after  the  fifth  encore.  "God 
bless  you,  Jenny,  you  have  settled  them!"  I  exclaimed. 

"Are  you  satisfied?"  said  she,  throwing  her  arms  around  my  neck.  She,  too, 
was  crying  with  joy,  and  never  before  did  she  look  so  beautiful  in  my  eyes  as  on 
that  evening. 

One  of  the  Havana  papers,  notwithstanding  the  great  triumph,  continued  to 
cry  out  for  low  prices.  This  induced  many  to  absent  themselves,  expecting 
soon  to  see  a  reduction.  It  had  been  understood  that  we  would  give  twelve 
concerts  in  Havana;  but  when  they  saw  after  the  fourth  concert,  which  was 
devoted  to  charity,  that  no  more  were  announced,  they  became  uneasy.  Com- 
mittees waited  upon  us  requesting  more  concerts,  but  we  peremptorily  declined. 
Some  of  the  leading  Dons,  among  whom  was  Count  Penalver,  then  offered  to 
guarantee  us  $25,000  for  three  concerts.  My  reply  was,  that  there  was  not  money 
enough  on  the  island  of  Cuba  to  induce  me  to  consent  to  it. 

I  found  my  little  Italian  plate-dancer,  Vivalla,  in  Havana.  He  called  on  me 
frequently.  He  was  in  great  distress,  having  lost  the  use  of  las  limbs  on  the  left 
side  of  his  body  by  paralysis.  He  was  thus  unable  to  earn  a  livelihood,  although 
he  still  kept  a  performing  dog,  which  turned  a  spinning-wheel  and  performed  some 
curious  tricks.  One  day  as  I  was  passing  him  out  of  the  front  gate,  Miss  Lind 
inquired  who  he  was.  I  briefly  recounted  to  her  his  history.  She  expressed  deep 
interest  in  his  case,  and  said  something  should  be  set  apart  for  him  in  the  benefit 
which  she  was  about  to  give  for  charity.  Accordingly,  when  the  benefit  came 
off,  Miss  Lind  appropriated  $500  to  him,  and  I  made  the  necessary  arrangements 
for  his  return  to  his  friends  in  Italy.  At  the  same  benefit  $4,000  were  distributed 
between  two  hospitals  and  a  convent. 

A  few  mornings  after  the  benefit  our  bell  was  rung,  and  the  servant  announced 
that  I  was  wanted.  I  went  to  the  door  and  found  a  large  procession  of  children, 
neatly  dressed  and  bearing  banners,  attended  by  ten  or  twelve  priests,  arrayed 
in  their  rich  and  flowing  robes.  I  inquired  their  business,  and  was  informed  that 
they  had  come  to  see  Miss  Lind,  to  thank  her  in  person  for  her  benevolence.  I 
took  their  message,  and  informed  Miss  Lind  that  the  leading  priests  of  the  con- 
vent had  come  in  great  state  to  see  and  thank  her.  "  I  will  not  see  them,"  she 
replied;  "  they  have  nothing  to  thank  me  for.  If  I  have  done  good,  it  is  no  more 
than  my  duty,  and  it  is  my  pleasure.  I  do  not  deserve  their  thanks,  and  I  will 
not  see  them."  I  returned  her  answer,  and  the  leaders  of  the  grand  procession 
went  away  in  disappointment. 

The  same  day  Vivalla  called,  and  brought  her  a  basket  of  the  most  luscious 
fruit  that  he  could  procure.  The  little  fellow  was  very  happy  and  extremely 
grateful.  Miss  Liud  had  gone  out  for  a  ride. 

"  God  bless  her !  I  am  so  happy ;  she  is  such  a  good  lady.  I  sViqll  see  my  broth- 
ers and  sisters  again.  Oh,  she  is  a  very  good  lady,"  said  poor  Vivalla,  overcome 
by  his  feelings.  He  begged  me  to  thank  her  for  him,  and  give  her  the  fruit.  As 
he  was  passing  out  of  the  door,  he  hesitated_  a  moment,  and  then  said,  "Mr. 
Barnum  I  should  like  so  much  to  have  the  good  lady  see  my  dog  turn  a  wheel; 
it  is  very  nice;  he  can  spin  very  good.  Shall  I  bring  the  dog  and  wheel  for  her? 
She  is  such  a  good  lady,  I  wish  to  please  her  very  much."  I  smiled,  and  told 
him  she  would  not  care  for  the  dog;  that  he  was  quite  welcome  to  the  money, 
and  that  she  refused  to  see  the  priests  from  the  convent  that  morning,  because  she 
never  received  thanks  for  favors. 


INCIDENTS   OF   THE   TOUR.  119 

When  Jenny  came  in  I  gave  her  the  fruit,  and  laughingly  told  her  that  Vivalla 
wished  to  show  her  how  his  performing  dog  could  turn  a  spinning-wheeL 

"  Poor  man,  poor  man,  do  let  him  come;  it  is  all  the  good  creature  can  do  for 
me,"  exclaimed  Jenny,  and  the  tears  flowed  thick  and  fast  down  her  cheeks.  "  I 
like  that,  I  like  that,"  she  continued,  "do  let  the  poor  creature  come  and  bring 
his  dog.  It  will  make  him  so  happy." 

I  confess  it  made  me  happy,  and  I  exclaimed,  for  my  heart  was  full,  "  God 
bless  you,  it  will  make  him  cry  for  joy;  he  shall  come  to-morrow." 

I  saw  Vivalla  the  same  evening,  and  delighted  him  with  the  intelligence  that 
Jenny  would  see  his  dog"  perform  the  next  day,  at  four  o'clock  precisely.* 

"I  will  be  punctual,"  said  Vivalla,  in  a  voice  trembling  with  emotion;  but  I 
was  sure  she  would  like  to  see  my  dog  perform." 

For  full  half  an  hour  before  the  time  appointed  did  Jenny  Lind  sit  in  her  win- 
dow on  the  second  floor  and  watch  for  Vivalla  and  his  dog.  A  few  minutes 
before  the  appointed  hour,  she  saw  him  coming.  "Ah,  here  he  comes!  here  he 
comes! "  she  exclaimed  in  delight,  as  she  ran  down  stairs  and  opened  the  door  to 
admit  him,  A  negro  boy  was  bringing  the  small  spinning-wheel,  while  Vivalla 
led  the  dog.  Handing  the  boy  a  silver  coin,  she  motioned  him  away,  and  taking 
the  wheel  in  her  arms,  she  said,  "This  is  very  kind  of  you  to  come  with  your 
dog.  Follow  me.  I  will  carry  the  wheel  up  stairs."  Her  servant  offered  to  take 
the  wheel,  but  no,  she  would  let  no  one  carry  it  but  herself.  She  called  us  all  up 
to  her  parlor,  and  for  one  full  hour  did  she  devote  herself  to  the  happy  Italian. 
She  went  down  on  her  knees  to  pet  the  dog  and  to  ask  Vivalla  all  sorts  of  questions 
about  his  performances,  his  former  course  of  lif e,  his  friends  in  Italy,  and  his 
present  hopes  and  determinations.  Then  she  sang  and  played  for  him,  gave  him 
some  refreshments,  finally  insisted  on  carrying  his  wheel  to  the  door,  and  her 
servant  accompanied  Vivalla  to  his  boarding-house. 

Poor  Vivalla!  He  was  probably  never  so  happy  before,  but  his  enjoyment  did 
not  exceed  that  of  Miss  Lind.  That  scene  alone  would  have  paid  me  for  all  my 
labors  during  the  entire  musical  campaign.  A  few  months  later,  however,  the 
Havana  correspondent  of  the  New  York  Herald  announced  the  death  of  Vivalla 
and  stated  that  the  poor  Italian's  last  words  were  about  Jenny  Lind  and  Mr. 
Barnum. 

In  the  party  which  accompanied  me  to  Havana,  was  Mr.  Henry  Bennett,  who 
formerly  kept  Peale's  Museum  in  New  York,  afterwards  managing  the  same 
establishment  for  me  when  I  purchased  it,  and  he  was  now  with  me  in  the 
capacity  of  a  ticket-taker.  He  was  as  honest  a  man  as  ever  lived,  and  a  good 
deal  of  a  wag.  I  remember  his  going  through  the  market  once  and  running 
across  a  decayed  actor  who  was  reduced  to  tending  a  market  stand;  Bennett 
hailed  him  with  "Hallo!  what  are  you  doing  here;  what  are  you  keeping  that 
old  turkey  for?" 

"  O !  for  a  profit,"  replied  the  actor. 

"  Prophet,  prophet  I "  exclaimed  Bennett,  "patriarch,  you  mean! " 

With  all  his  waggery  he  was  subject  at  times  to  moods  of  the  deepest  despond- 
ency, bordering  on  insanity.  Madness  ran  in  his  family.  His  brother,  in  a  fit  of 
frenzy,  had  blown  his  brains  out.  Henry  himself  had  twice  attempted  his  own 
life  while  in  my  employ  in  New  York.  Some  time  after  our  present  journey  to 
Havana,  I  sent  him  to  London.  He  conducted  my  business  precisely  as  I 
directed,  writing  up  his  account  with  me  correctly  to  a  penny.  Then  handing  it 

*  See  Illustration,  page  120. 


120  INCIDENTS   OF   THE  TOUR. 

to  a  mutual  friend  with  directions  to  give  it  to  me  when  I  arrived  in  London  the 
following  week,  he  went  to  bis  lodgings  and  committed  suicide. 

"While  we  were  in  Havana,  Bennett  was  so  despondent  at  times  that  we  were 
obliged  to  watch  him  carefully,  lest  he  should  do  some  damage  to  himself  or 
others.  When  we  left  Havana  for  New  Orleans,  on  board  the  steamer  "Falcon," 
Mr.  James  Gordon  Bennett,  editor  of  the  New  York  Herald,  and  his  wife,  were 
also  passengers.  After  permitting  one  favorable  notice  in  his  paper,  Bennett 
had  turned  around,  as  usual,  and  had  abused  Jenny  Lind  and  bitterly  attacked 
me.  I  was  always  glad  to  get  such  notices,  for  they  served  as  inexpensive  adver- 
tisements to  my  Museum.  •> 

Ticket-taker  Bennett,  however,  took  much  to  heart  the  attacks  of  Editor  Ben- 
nett upon  Jenny  Lind.  When  Editor  Bennett  came  on  board  the  "  Falcon,"  his 
violent  name-sake  said  to  a  by-stander: 

"I  would  willingly  be  drowned  if  I  could  see  that  old  scoundrel  goto  the 
bottom  of  the  sea." 

Several  of  our  party  overheard  the  remark  and  1  turned  laughingly  to  Bennett 
and  said:  "  Nonsense;  he  can't  harm  any  one.  and  there  is  an  old  proverb  about 
the  impossibility  of  drowning  those  who  are  born  to  another  fate." 

That  very  night,  however,  as  I  stood  near  the  cabin  door,  conversing  with  my 
treasurer  and  other  members  of  my  company,  Henry  Bennett  came  up  to  me 
with  a  wild  air,  and  hoarsely  whispered: 

"Old  Bennett  has  gone  forward  alone  in  the  dark — and  I  am  going  to  throw 
him  overboard!" 

We  were  all  startled,  for  we  knew  the  man  and  he  seemed  terribly  in  earnest. 
Knowing  how  most  effectively  to  address  him  at  such  times,  I  exclaimed : 

" Ridiculous!  you  would  not  do  such  a  thing." 

"  I  swear  I  will,"  was  his  savage  reply.  I  expostulated  with  him,  and  several 
of  our  party  joined  me. 

"  Nobody  will  know  it,"  muttered  the  maniac,  "  and  I  shall  be  doing  the  world 
a  favor." 

I  endeavored  to  awaken  him  to  a  sense  of  the  crime  he  contemplated,  assuring 
him  that  it  could  not  possibly  benefit  any  one,  and  that  from  the  fact  of  the 
relations  existing  between  the  editor  and  myself,  I  should  be  the  first  to  be 
accused  of  his  murder.  I  implored  him  to  go  to  his  state-room,  and  he  finally 
did  so,  accompanied  by  some  of  the  gentlemen  of  our  party.  I  took  pains  to  see 
that  he  was  carefully  watched  that  night,  and,  indeed,  for  several  days,  till  he 
became  calm  again.  He  was  a  large,  athletic  man,  quite  able  to  pick  up  his  name- 
sake and  drop  him  overboard.  The  matter  was  too  serious  for  a  joke,  and  we 
made  little  mention  of  it;  but  more  than  one  of  our  party  said  then,  and  has 
said  since,  what  I  really  believe  to  be  true,  that  "James  Gordon  Bennett  would 
have  been  drowned  that  night  had  it  uofTbeen  for  P.  T.  Baruum." 

In  New  Orleans  the  wharf  was  crowded  by  a  great  concourse  of  persons,  as  the 
steamer  "Falcon"  approached.  Jenny  Lind  had  enjoyed  a  month  of  quiet,  and 
dreaded  the  excitement  which  she  must  now  again  encounter. 

"Mr.  Barnum,  I  am  sure  I  can  never  get  through  that  crowd,"  said  she,  in 
despair. 

"  Leave  that  to  me.  Remain  quiet  for  ten  minutes,  and  there  shall  be  no  crowd 
here,"  I  replied. 

Taking  my  daughter  on  my  arm,  she  threw  her  veil  over  her  face,  and  we 
descended  the  gangway  to  the  dock.  The  crowd  pressed  around.  Ihadbeckoiu-.J 
for  a  carriage  before  leaving  the  ship. 


INCIDENTS  OF  THE  TOUR.  121 

"  That's  Barnum,  I  know  him,"  called  out  several  persons  at  the  top  of  their 
voices. 

"  Open  the  way,  if  you  please,  for  Mr.  Barnum  and  Miss  Lind !  "  cried  Le  Grand 
Smith  over  the  railing  of  the  ship,  the  deck  of  which  he  had  just  reached  from 
the  wharf. 

"Don't  crowd  her,  if  you  please,  gentlemen,"  I  exclaimed,  and  by  dint  of  push- 
ing, squeezing  and  coaxing,  we  reached  the  carriage,  and  drove  for  the  Montalba 
buildings,  where  Miss  Land's  apartments  had  been  prepared,  and  the  whole  crowd 
came  following  at  our  heels.  In  a  few  minutes  afterwards,  Jenny  and  her  com- 
panion came  quietly  in  a  carriage,  and  were  in  the  house  before  the  ruse  was 
discovered.  In  answer  to  incessant  calls,  she  appeared  a  moment  upon  the 
balcony,  waved  her  handkerchief,  received  three  hearty  cheers,  and  the  crowd 
dispersed. 

A  funny  incident  occurred  at  New  Orleans.  Our  concerts  were  given  in  the 
St.  Charles  Theater,  then  managed  by  my  good  friend,  the  late  SoL  Smith.  In 
the  open  lots  near  the  theater  were  exhibitions  of  mammoth  hogs,  five-footed 
horses,  grizzly  bears,  and  other  animals. 

A  gentleman  had  a  son  about  twelve  years  old,  who  had  a  wonderful  ear  for 
music.  He  could  whistle  or  sing  any  tune  after  hearing  it  once.  His  father  did 
not  know  nor  care  for  a  single  note,  but  so  anxious  was  he  to  please  his  son,  that 
he  paid  thirty  dollars  for  two  tickets  to  the  concert. 

"I  liked  the  music  better  than  I  expected,"  said  he  to  me  the  next  day,  "but 
my  son  was  in  raptures.  He  was  so  perfectly  enchanted  that  he  scarcely  spoke 
the  whole  evening,  and  I  would  on  no  account  disturb  his  delightful  reveries. 
When  the  concert  was  finished  we  came  out  of  the  theater.  Not  a  word  was 
spoken.  I  knew  that  my  musical  prodigy  was  happy  among  the  clouds,  and  I 
said  nothing.  I  could  not  help  envying  him  his  love  of  music,  and  considered  my 
thirty  dollars  as  nothing,  compared  to  the  buss  which  it  secured  to  him.  Indeed, 
I  was  seriously  thinking  of  taking  him  to  the  next  concert,  when  he  spoke.  We 
were  just  passing  the  numerous  shows  upon  the  vacant  lots.  One  of  the  signs 
attracted  him,  and  he  said,  '  Father,  let  us  go  in  and  see  the  big  hog ! '  The  little 
scamp!  I  could  have  horsewhipped  him!"  said  the  father,  who,  loving  a  joke, 
could  not  help  laughing  at  the  ludicrous  incident. 

Some  months  afterwards,  I  was  relating  this  story  at  my  own  table  to  several 
guests,  among  whom  was  a  very  matter-of-fact  man  who  had  not  the  faintest 
conception  of  humor.  After  the  whole  party  had  laughed  heartily  at  the  anecdote, 
my  matter-of-fact  friend  gravely  asked: 

"  And  was  it  a  very  large  hog,  Mr.  Barnum  ?" 

I  made  arrangements  with  the  captain  of  the  splendid  steamer  "  Magnolia," 
of  Louisville,  to  take  our  party  as  far  as  Cairo,  the  junction  of  the  Mississippi 
and  Ohio  rivers,  stipulating  for  sufficient  delay  in  Natchez,  Mississippi,  and  in 
Memphis,  Tennessee,  to  give  a  concert  in  each  place.  It  was  no  unusual  thing  for 
me  to  charter  a  steamboat  or  a  special  train  of  cars  for  our  party.  With  such  an 
enterprise  as  that,  time  and  comfort  were  paramount  to  money. 

The  time  on  board  the  steamer  was  whiled  away  in  reading,  viewing  the  scenery 
of  the  Mississippi,  and  other  diversions.  One  day  we  had  a  pleasant  musical 
festival  in  the  ladies'  saloon  for  the  gratification  of  the  passengers,  at  which  Jenny 
volunteered  to  sing  without  ceremony.  It  seemed  to  us  she  never  sang  so  sweetly 
before.  I  also  did  my  best  to  amuse  my  fellow  passengers  with  anecdotes  and 
the  exhibition  of  sundry  legerdemain  tricks  which  I  had  been  obliged  to  learn 
and  use  in  the  South  years  before,  and  under  far  different  circumstances  than 
6 


122  INCIDENTS   OF   THE   TOUR. 

those  which  attended  the  performance  now.  Among  other  tricks,  I  caused  a 
quarter  of  a  dollar  to  disappear  so  mysteriously  from  beneath  a  card,  that  the 
mulatto  barber  on  board  came  to  the  conclusion  that  I  was  in  league  with  the 
deviL 

The  next  morning  I  seated  myself  for  the  operation  of  shaving,  and  the  colored 
gentleman  ventured  to  dip  into  the  mystery.  "  Beg  pardon,  Mr.  Barnum,  but  1 
have  heard  a  great  deal  about  you,  and  I  saw  more  than  I  wanted  to  see  last 
night.  Is  it  true  that  you  have  sold  yourself  to  the  devil,  so  that  you  can  do 
what  you've  a  mind  to? " 

"Oh,  yes,"  was  my  reply,  "that  is  the  bargain  between  us." 

"  How  long  did  you  agree  for? "  was  the  question  next  in  order. 

"Only  nine  years,"  said  L  "I  have  had  three  of  them  already.  Before  the 
other  six  are  out,  I  shall  find  a  way  to  nonplus  the  old  gentleman,  and  I  have  told 
him  so  to  his  face." 

At  this  avowal,  a  larger  space  of  white  than  usual  was  seen  in  the  darkey's 
eyes,  and  he  inquired,  "Is  it  by  this  bargain  that  you  get  so  much  money?" 

"Certainly,  No  matter  who  has  money,  nor  where  he  keeps  it,  in  his  box  or 
till,  or  anywhere  about  him,  I  have  only  to  speak  the  words,  and  it  comes." 

The  shaving  was  completed  in  silence,  but  thought  had  been  busy  in  the  bar- 
ber's mind,  and  he  embraced  the  speediest  opportunity  to  transfer  Ms  bag  of  coin 
to  the  iron  safe  in  charge  of  the  clerk. 

The  movement  did  not  escape  me,  and  immediately  a  joke  was  afoot.  I  had 
barely  time  to  make  two  or  three  details  of  arrangement  with  the  clerk,  and 
resume  my  seat  in  the  cabin,  ere  the  barbt.T  sought  a  second  interview,  bent  on 
testing  the  alleged  powers  of  Beelzebub's  colleague. 

"Beg  pardon,  Mr.  Barnum,  but  where  is  my  money?    Can  you  get  it?" 

"  I  do  not  want  your  money,"  was  the  quiet  answer.     "  It  is  safe." 

"  Yes,  I  know  it  is  safe — ha!  ha! — it  is  in  the  iron  safe  in  the  clerk's  office — safe 
enough  from  you!" 

"It  is  not  in  the  iron  safe !"  said  I.  This  was  said  so  quietly,  yet  positively, 
that  the  colored  gentleman  ran  to  the  office,  and  inquired  if  all  was  safe.  "All 
right,"  said  the  clerk.  "  Open,  and  let  me  see,"  replied  the  barber.  The  safe  was 
unlocked  and  lo!  the  money  was  gone! 

In  mystified  terror  the  loser  applied  to  me  for  relief.  "You  will  find  the  bag 
in  your  drawer,"  said  I,  and  there  it  was  found! 

His  curiosity  was  still  great.     "  Please  do  another  trick,"  said  he. 

"Very  well,"  I  replied,  "stand  perfectly  still" 

He  did  so,  and  I  commenced  muttering  some  mysterious  words,  as  if  performing 
an  incantation. 

"  What  are  you  doing  ?"  asked  the  barber. 

"  I  am  changing  you  into  a  black  cat,"  I  replied,  "but  don't  be  afraid;  I  will 
change  you  back  again,  if  I  don't  forget  the  words  to  do  it  with." 

This  was  too  much  for  the  terrified  darkey;  with  an  awful  screech  he  rushed  to 
the  side  of  the  boat  resolved  to  drown  rather  than  undergo  such  a  transf  ormation. 

He  was  captured  and  brought  back  to  me,  when  I  dispelled  his  fright  by  explan- 
ing  the  way  in  which  I  had  tricked  him.  Relieved  and  reassured,  he  clapped  his 
nands  and  executed  an  impromptu  jig,  exclaiming,  "  Ha!  ha!  when  I  get  back  to 
New  Orleans  won't  I  come  de  Barnum  ober  dem  niggers! " 


CHAPTEE   XXI. 

JENNY  LIND. 

ACCORDING  to  agreement,  the  "  Magnolia  "  waited  for  us  at  Natchez  and  Mem- 
phis, and  we  gave  profitable  concerts  at  both  places.  The  concert  at  Memphis 
was  the  sixtieth  in  the  list  since  Miss  land's  arrival  in  America,  and  the  first 
concert  in  St.  Louis  would  be  the  sixty-first.  When  we  reached  that  city,  on  the 
morning  of  the  day  when  our  first  concert  was  to  be  given,  Miss  Land's  secretary 
came  to  me,  commissioned,  he  said,  by  her,  and  announced  that  as  sixty  concerts 
had  already  taken  place,  she  proposed  to  avail  herself  of  one  of  the  conditions  of 
our  contract,  and  cancel  the  engagement  next  morning.  As  this  was  the  first 
intimation  of  the  kind  I  had  received,  I  was  somewhat  startled,  though  I  assumed 
an  entirely  placid  demeanor,  and  asked: 

"  Does  Miss  land  authorize  you  to  give  me  this  notice?" 

"  I  so  understand  it,"  was  the  reply. 

I  immediately  reflected  that  if  our  contract  was  thus  suddenly  canceled,  Miss 
Land  was  bound  to  repay  to  me  all  I  had  paid  her  over  the  stipulated  $1,000  for 
each  concert,  and  a  little  calculation  showed  that  the  sum  thus  to  be  paid  back 
was  $77,000,  since  she  had  already  received  from  me  $137,000  for  sixty  concerts. 
In  this  view,  I  could  not  but  think  that  this  was  a  ruse  of  some  of  her  advisers, 
and,  possibly,  that  she  might  know  nothing  of  the  matter.  So  I  told  her  secre- 
tary that  I  would  see  him  again  in  an  hour,  and  meanwhile  I  went  to  my  old 
friend  Mr.  SoL  Smith  for  his  legal  and  friendly  advice. 

I  showed  him  my  contract  and  told  him  how  much  I  had  been  annoyed  by  the 
selfish  and  greedy  hangers-on  and  advisers,  legal  and  otherwise,  of  Jenny  Land. 
I  talked  to  him  about  the  "  wheels  within  wheels  "  which  moved  this  great  musical 
enterprise,  and  asked  and  gladly  accepted  his  advice,  which  mainly  coincided 
with  my  own  views  of  the  situation.  I  then  went  back  to  the  secretary  and 
quietly  told  him  that  I  was  ready  to  settle  with  Miss  Land  and  to  close  the 
engagement. 

"But,"  said  he,  manifestly  "taken  aback,"  "you  have  already  advertised 
concerts  in  Louisville  and  Cincinnati,  I  believe." 

"Yes,"  i  replied;  "but  you  may  take  my  contracts  for  halls  and  printing  off 
my  hands  at  cost."  I  further  said  that  he  was  welcome  to  the  assistance  of  my 
agent  who  had  made  these  arrangements,  and,  moreover,  that  I  would  cheerfully 
give  my  own  services  to  help  them  through  with  these  concerts,  thus  giving  them 
a  good  start  "  on  their  own  hook." 

My  liberality,  which  he  acknowledged,  emboldened  him  to  make  an  extraordi- 
nary proposition: 

"  Now  suppose,"  he  asked,  "  Miss  Land  should  wish  to  give  some  fifty  concerts 
in  this  country,  what  would  you  charge  as  manager,  per  concert?" 

"A  million  dollars  each,  not  one  cent  less,"  I  replied.  I  was  now  thoroughly 
aroused;  the  whole  thing  was  as  clear  as  daylight,  and  I  continued: 

"  Now  we  might  as  well  understand  each  other;  I  don't  believe  Miss  Lind  has 
authorized  you  to  propose  to  me  to  cancel  our  contract;  but  if  she  has,  just  bring 

123 


124  JENNY  LIND. 

me  a  line  to  that  effect  over  her  signature  and  her  check  for  the  amount  due  me 
by  the  terms  of  that  contract,  some  $77,000,  and  we  will  close  our  business 
connections  at  once." 

"But  why  not  make  a  new  arrangement,"  persisted  the  secretary,  "for  fifty 
concerts  more,  by  which  Miss  Land  shall  pay  you  liberally,  say  $1,000  per 
concert? " 

"  Simply  because  I  hired  Miss  land,  and  not  she  me,"  I  replied,  "  and  because  I 
never  ought  to  take  a  farthing  less  for  my  risk  and  trouble  than  tho  contract 
gives  me.  I  have  voluntarily  paid  Miss  Lind  more  than  twice  as  much  as  I 
originally  contracted  to  pay  her,  or  as  she  expected  to  receive  when  she  first 
engaged  with  me.  Now,  if  she  is  not  satisfied,  I  wish  to  settle  instantly  and 
finally.  If  you  do  not  bring  me  her  decision  to-day,  I  shall  go  to  her  for  it  to- 
morrow morning." 

I  met  the  secretary  soon  after  breakfast  next  morning  and  asked  him  if  he  had 
a  written  communication  for  me  from  Miss  Lind?  He  said  he  had  not,  and  that 
the  whole  thing  was  a  "joke."  He  merely  wanted,  he  added,  to  see  what  I  would 
say  to  the  proposition.  I  asked  him  if  Miss  Lind  was  in  the  "joke,"  as  he  called 
it?  He  hoped  I  would  not  inquire,  but  would  let  the  matter  drop.  I  went  on,  as 
usual,  and  gave  four  more  concerts  in  St.  Louis,  and  followed  out  my  programme 
as  arranged  in  other  cities  for  many  weeks  following;  nor  at  that  time,  nor  at 
any  time  afterwards,  did  Miss  Lind  give  me  the  slightest  intimation  that  she  had 
any  knowledge  of  the  proposition  of  her  secretary  to  cancel  our  agreement  or  to 
employ  me  as  her  manager. 

During  our  stay  at  St.  Louis,  I  delivered  a  temperance  lecture  in  the  theater, 
and,  at  the  close,  among  other  signers  of  the  pledge,  was  my  friend  and  adviser, 
Sol.  Smith.  "Uncle  SoL"  as  every  one  called  him,  was  a  famous  character  in 
his  time.  He  was  an  excellent  comedian,  an  author,  a  manager  and  a  lawyer. 
In  1854,  he  published  an  autobiographical  work,  preceded  by  a  dedication  which 
I  venture  to  copy: 

"TO  PHINEAS  T.  BARNUM,   PROPRIETOR  OF  THE  AMERICAN  MUSEUM,  ETC. 

"  Great  Impressario :  Whilst  you  were  engaged  in  your  grand  Jenny  Lind 
speculation,  the  following  conundrum  went  the  rounds  of  the  American  news- 
papers: 

"'Why  is  it  that  Jenny  Lind  and  Barnum  will  never  fall  out?'  Answer: 
'  Because  he  is  always  for-getting,  and  she  is  always  for-giving.' 

"I  have  never  asked  you  the  question  directly,  whether  you,  Mr.  Barnum, 
started  that  conundrum,  or  not;  but  I  strongly  suspect  that  you  did.  At  all 
events,  I  noticed  that  your  whole  policy  was  concentrated  into  one  idea — to  make 
an  angel  of  Jenny,  and  depreciate  yourself  in  contrast. 

"You  may  remember  that  in  this  city  (St.  Louis),  I  acted  in  one  instance  as 
your  'legal  adviser,'  and,  as  such,  necessarily  became  acquainted  with  all  the 
particulars  of  your  contract  with  the  so-called  Swedish  Nightingale,  as  well  as 
the  various  modifications  claimed  by  that  charitable  lady,  and  submitted  to  by 
you  after  her  arrival  in  this  country;  which  modifications  (I  suppose  it  need  no 
longer  be  a  secret)  secured  to  her — besides  the  original  stipulation  of  one  thousand 
dollars  for  every  concert,  attendants,  carriages,  assistant  artists,  and  a  pompous 
and  extravagant  retinue,  fit  (only)  for  a  European  princess— one  half  of  the  profits 
of  each  performance.  You  may  also  remember  the  legal  advice  I  gave  you  on 
the  occasion  referred  to,  and  the  salutary  efTor-f;  of  yoiir  following  it.  You  must 
remember  the  extravagant  joy  you  felt  afterwards,  in  Philadelphia,  when  the 


JENNY  LIND.  125 

•  Angel '  made  up  her  mind  to  avail  herself  of  one  of  the  stipulations  in  her  con- 
tract, to  break  off  at  the  end  of  a  hundred  nights,  and  even  bought  out  seven 
of  that  hundred — supposing  that  she  could  go  on  without  your  aid  as  well  as 
with  it.  And  you  cannot  but  remember,  how,  like  a  rocket-stick  she  dropped, 
when  your  business  connection  with  her  ended,  and  how  she  '  fizzed  out '  the 
remainder  of  her  concert  nights  in  this  part  of  the  world,  and  soon  afterwards 
retired  to  her  domestic  blissitude  in  Sweden. 

"  You  know,  Mr.  Barnum,  if  you  would  only  tell,  which  of  the  two  it  was  that 
was  'for-getting,'  and  which  'for-giving;'  and  you  also  know  who  actually  gave 
the  larger  portion  of  those  sums  which  you  heralded  to  the  world  as  the  sole  gifts 
of  the  '  divine  Jenny.' 

"  Of  all  your  speculations — from  the  negro  centenarina,  who  didn't  nurse  Gen- 
eral Washington,  down  to  the  Bearded  Woman  of  Genoa — there  was  not  one 
which  required  the  exercise  of  so  much  humbuggery  as  the  Jenny  Lind  concerts; 
and  I  verily  believe  there  is  no  man  living,  other  than  yourself,  who  could,  or 
would,  have  risked  the  enormous  expenditure  of  money  necessary  to  carry  them 
through  successfully — traveling,  with  sixty  artists,  four  thousand  miles,  and 
giving  ninety-three  concerts,  at  an  actual  cost  of  forty-five  hundred  dollars  each, 
is  what  no  other  rna^  would  have  undertaken — you  accomplished  this,  and 
pocketed  by  the  operation  but  Little  less  than  two  hundred  thousand  dollars! 
Mr.  Barnum,  you  are  yourself,  alone ! 

"I  honor  you,  ohl  Great  Impressario,  as  the  most  successful  manager  in 
America  or  any  other  country.  Democrat,  as  you  are,  you  can  give  a  practical 
lesson  to  the  aristocrats  of  Europe  how  to  live.  At  your  beautiful  and  tasteful 
residence, '  Irauistan '  (I  don't  like  the  name,  though),  you  can  and  do  entertain  your 
Mends  with  a  warmth  of  hospitality,  only  equalled  by  that  of  the  great  landed 
proprietors  of  the  old  country,  or  of  our  own  '  sunny  South.'  Whilst  riches  are 
pouring  into  your  coffers  from  your  various  '  ventures '  in  all  parts  of  the  world, 
you  do  not  hoard  your  immense  means,  but  continually  '  cast  them  forth  upon 
the  waters,'  rewarding  labor,  encouraging  the  arts,  and  lending  a  helping  hand  to 
industry  in  all  its  branches.  Not  content  with  doing  all  this,  you  deal  telling  blows, 
whenever  opportunity  offers,  upon  the  monster  Intemperance.  Your  labors  in 
this  great  cause  alone  should  entitle  you  to  the  thanks  of  all  good  men,  women  and 
children  in  the  land.  Mr.  Barnum,  you  deserve  all  your  good  fortune,  and  I 
hope  you  may  long  live  to  enjoy  your  wealth  and  honor. 

"As  a  small  installment  towards  the  debt,  I,  as  one  of  the  community,  owe 
you,  and  with  the  hope  of  affording  you  an  hour's  amusement  (if  you  can  spare 
that  amount  of  time  from  your  numerous  avocations  to  read  it),  I  present  you 
with  this  Little  volume,  containing  a  very  brief  account  of  some  of  my  '  journey- 
work'  in  the  south  and  west;  and  remain,  very  respectfully, 
"  Your  friend,  and  affectionate  uncle, 

"  SOL.  SMITH. 

"  CHOUTEAU  AVENUE,  ST.  Louis, 
"  Nov.  1,  1854." 

"  Uncle  "  Sol.  Smith  must  be  held  solely  responsible  for  his  extravagant  estimate 
of  P.  T.  Barnum,  and  for  his  somewhat  deprecatory  view  of  the  attributes  of 
the  "divine  Jenny." 

Whenever  Miss  Lind  sang  for  a  public  or  private  charity,  she  gave  her  voice, 
which  was  worth  a  thousand  dollars  to  her  every  evening.  At  such  times,  I 
always  insisted  upon  paying  for  the  hall,  orchestra,  printing,  and  other  expenses, 


126  JENXY  LIND. 


because  I  felt  able  and  willing  to  contribute  my  full  share  towards  the  worthy 
objects  which  prompted  these  benefits. 

We  were  in  Havana  when  I  showed  to  Miss  Lind  a  paper  containing  the  co- 
nundrum on  "  f  or-getting  "  and  "for-giving,"  at  which  she  laughed  heartily,  but 
immediately  checked  herself  and  said: 

"  O!  Mr.  Barnuin,  this  is  not  fair;  you  know  that  you  really  give  more  than  I 
do  from  the  proceeds  of  every  one  of  these  charity  concerts." 

And  it  is  but  just  to  her  to  say  that  she  frequently  remonstrated  with  me,  and 
declared  that  the  actual  expenses  should  be  deducted,  and  the  thus  lessened  sum 
devoted  to  the  charity  for  which  the  concert  might  be  given;  but  I  always  laugh- 
ingly told  her  that  I  must  do  my  part,  give  my  share,  and  that  if  it  was  purely 
a  business  operation,  "bread  cast  upon  the  waters,"  it  would  return,  perhaps, 
buttered;  for  the  larger  her  reputation  for  liberality,  the  more  liberal  the  public 
would  surely  be  to  us  and  to  our  enterprise. 

I  have  no  wish  to  conceal  these  facts,  and  I  certainly  have  no  desire  to  receive 
a  larger  meed  of  praise  than  my  qualified  generosity  merits.  Justice  to  myself 
and  to  my  management,  as  well  as  to  Miss  Lind,  seems  to  permit,  if  not  to  de- 
mand, this  explanation. 


CHAPTEK    XXII. 

• 

CLOSE   OF   THE   CAMPAIGN. 

AFTER  five  concerts  in  St.  Louis,  we  went  to  Nashville,  Tennessee,  where  we 
gave  our  sixty-sixth  and  sixty-seventh  concerts  in  this  country.  While  there, 
Jenny  Lind,  accompanied  by  my  daughter,  Mrs.  Lyman,  and  myself,  visited  the 
"  Hermitage,"  the  late  residence  of  General  Jackson.  On  that  occasion,  for  the 
first  time  that  season,  we  heard  the  wild  mocking-birds  singing  in  the  trees.  This 
gave  Jenny  Lind  great  delight,  as  she  had  never  before  heard  them  sing  except 
in  their  wire-bound  cages. 

The  first  of  April  occurred  while  we  were  in  Nashville.  I  was  considerably 
annoyed  during  the  forenoon  by  the  calls  of  members  of  the  company,  who  came 
to  me  under  the  belief  that  I  had  sent  for  them.  After  dinner,  I  concluded  to 
give  them  all  a  touch  of  "  April  fool."  The  following  article,  which  appeared  the 
next  morning  in  the  Nashville  Daily  American,  my  amanuensis  having  imparted 
the  secret  to  the  editor,  will  show  how  it  was  done: 

"  A  series  of  laughable  jokes  came  off  yesterday  at  the  Veranda  In  honor  of  All  Fools' 
Day.  Mr.  Barnum  was  at  the  bottom  of  the  mischief.  He  managed,  In  some  mysterious 
manner,  to  obtain  a  lot  of  blank  telegraphic  despatches  and  envelopes  from  one  of  the  offices 
in  this  city,  and  then  went  to  work  and  manufactured  '  astounding  intelligence '  for  most  of 
the  parties  composing  the  Jenny  Lind  suite.  Almost  every  person  in  the  company  received 
a  telegraphic  despatch,  written  under  the  direction  of  Barnum.  Mr.  Barnum's  daughter 
was  informed  that  her  mother,  her  cousin,  and  several  other  relatives,  were  waiting  for  her 
in  Louisville,  and  various  other  important  and  extraordinary  items  of  domestic  intelligence 
were  communicated  to  her.  Mr.  Le  Grand  Smith  was  told  by  a  despatch  from  his  father 
.hat  his  native  village,  in  Connecticut,  was  in  ashes,  including  his  own  homestead,  etc. 
Several  of  Barnum's  employees  had  most  liberal  offers  of  engagements  from  banks  and 
ither  institutions  at  the  North.  Burke,  and  others  of  the  musical  professors,  were  offered 
princely  salaries  by  opera  managers,  and  many  of  them  received  most  tempting  inducements 
;o  proceed  immediately  to  the  World's  Fair  in  London. 

"  One  married  gentleman  in  Mr.  Barnnm's  suit  received  the  gratifying  Intelligence  that 
he  had  for  two  days  been  the  father  of  a  pair  of  bouncing  boys  (mother  and  children  doing 
well),  an  event  which  he  had  been  anxiously  looking  for  during  the  week,  though  on  a 
somewhat  more  limited  scale.  In  fact,  nearly  every  person  in  the  party  engaged  by  Bar- 
num received  some  extraordinary  telegraphic  intelligence ;  and,  as  the  great  impressario 
managed  to  have  the  despatches  delivered  simultaneously,  each  recipient  was  for  some  time 
busily  occupied  with  his  own  personal  news. 

"  By  and  by  each  began  to  tell  his  neighbor  his  good  or  bad  tidings  ;  and  each  wa»,  of 
course,  rejoiced  or  grieved,  according  to  circumstances.  Several  gave  Mr.  Barnum  notice 
of  their  intention  to  leave  him,  in  consequence  of  better  offers  ;  and  a  number  of  them  sent 
off  telegraphic  despatches  and  letters  by  mail,  in  answer  to  those  received. 

"  The  man  who  had  so  suddenly  become  the  father  of  twins,  telegraphed  to  his  wife  to 
*  be  of  good  cheer,'  and  that  he  would  '  start  for  home  to-morrow.  At  a  late  hour  last 
night  the  secret  had  not  got  out,  and  we  presume  that  many  of  the  victims  will  first  learn 
from  our  columns  that  they  have  been  taken  in  by  Barnum  and  All  Fools'  Day  1 " 

From  Nashville,  Jenny  Land  and  a  few  friends  went  by  way  of  the  Mammoth 
Cave  to  Louisville,  while  the  rest  of  the  party  proceeded  by  steamboat. 

While  in  Havana,  I  engaged  Signor  Salvi  for  a  few  months,  to  begin  about  the 
tenth  of  April.  He  joined  us  at  Louisville,  and  sang  in  the  three  concerts  there 
with  great  satisfaction  to  the  public.  Mr.  George  D.  Prentice,  of  the  Louisville 
Journal,  and  his  beautiful  and  accomplished  lady,  who  had  contributed  much  to 
the  pleasure  of  Miss  Lind  and  our  party,  accompanied  us  to  Cincinnati. 

As  the  steamer  from  Louisville  to  Cincinnati  would  arrive  at  Madison  about 
sundown,  and  would  wait  long  enough  for  us  to  give  a  concert,  we  did  so,  and  at 

127 


128  CLOSE   OF  THE   CAMPAIGN. 

ten  o'clock  we  were  again  on  board  the  fine  steamer  "  Ben  Franklin  "  bound  for 
Cincinnati. 

The  next  morning  the  crowd  upon  the  wharf  was  immense.  I  was  fearful  that 
an  attempt  to  repeat  the  New  Orleans  ruse  with  my  daughter  would  be  of  no 
avail,  as  the  joke  had  been  published  in  the  Cincinnati  papers.  So  I  gave  my  arm 
to  Miss  Lind,  and  begged  her  to  have  no  fears  for  I  had  hit  upon  an  expedient 
which  would  save  her  from  annoyance.  "We  then  descended  the  plank  to  the 
shore,  and  as  soon  as  we  had  touched  it  Le  Grand  Smith  called  out  from  the  boat, 
as  if  he  had  been  one  of  the  passengers,  "That's  no  go,  Mr.  Barnum;  you  can't 
pass  your  daughter  off  for  Jenny  Lind  this  time." 

The  remark  elicited  a  peal  of  merriment  from  the  crowd,  several  persons  call- 
ing out,  "That  wont  do,  Barnum!  You  may  fool  the  New  Orleans  folks,  but 
you  can't  come  it  over  the  'Buckeyes.'  We  intend  to  stay  here  until  you  bring 
out  Jenny  Lind  I"  They  readily  allowed  me  to  pass  with  the  lady  whom  they 
supposed  to  be  my  daughter,  and  in  five  minutes  afterwards  the  Nightingale  was 
complimenting  Mr.  Coleman  upon  the  beautiful  and  commodious  apartments 
which  were  devoted  to  her  in  the  Burnett  House. 

In  passing  up  the  river  to  Pittsburg,  the  boat  waited  four  hours  to  enable  us  to 
give  a  concert  at  Wheeling. 

At  Pittsburg  we  gave  one  concert. 

We  reached  New  York  early  in  May,  1851,  and  gave  fourteen  concerts  in  Castle 
Garden  and  Metropolitan  HalL  The  last  of  these  made  the  ninety-second  regular 
concert  under  our  engagement.  Jenny  Lind  had  now  again  reached  the  atmos- 
phere of  her  legal  and  other  "advisers,"  and  I  soon  discovered  the  effects  of  their 
influence.  I,  however,  cared  little  what  course  they  advised  her  to  pursue.  I,  in- 
deed, wished  they  would  prevail  upon  her  to  close  with  her  hundredth  concert,  for  I 
had  become  weary  with  constant  excitement  and  unremitting  exertions.  I  felt  it 
would  be  well  for  her  to  try  some  concerts  on  her  own  account,  if  she  saw  fit  to 
credit  her  advisers'  assurance  that  I  had  not  managed  the  enterprise  as  success- 
fully as  it  might  have  been  done. 

At  about  the  eighty-fifth  concert,  therefore,  I  was  most  happy  to  learn  from 
her  lips  that  she  had  concluded  to  pay  the  forfeiture  of  twenty-five  thousand  dol- 
lars, and  terminate  the  concerts  with  the  one  hundredth. 

We  went  10  Philadelphia,  where  I  had  advertised  the  ninety-third  and 
ninety-fourth  concerts.  Not  caring  enough  for  the  profits  of  the  remaining 
seven  concerts  to  continue  the  engagement  at  the  risk  of  disturbing  the 
friendly  feelings  which  had  hitherto  uninterruptedly  existed  between  that  lady 
and  myself,  I  wrote  her  a  letter  offering  to  relinquish  the  engagement,  if  she 
desired  it,  at  the  termination  of  the  concert  which  was  to  take  place  that  evening, 
upon  her  simply  allowing  me  a  thousand  dollars  per  concert  for  the  seven  which 
would  yet  remain  to  make  up  the  hundred,  besides  paying  me  the  sum  stipulated 
as  a  forfeiture  for  closing  the  engagement  at  the  one  hundredth  concert.  This 
offer  she  accepted,  and  our  engagement  terminated. 

Jenny  Lind  gave  several  concerts,  with  varied  success,  and  then  retired  to 
Niagara  Falls,  and  afterwards  to  Northampton,  Massachusetts.  While  sojourn- 
ing at  the  latter  place,  she  visited  Boston  and  was  married  to  Mr.  Otto  Gold- 
Bchmidt,  a  German  composer  and  pianist,  to  whom  she  was  much  attached,  and 
who  had  studied  music  with  her  in  Germany.  He  played  several  times  in  our 
concerts.  He  was  a  very  quiet,  inoffensive  gentleman,  and  an  accomplished 
musician. 


CLOSE  OP  THE  CAMPAIGN. 


1  met  her  several  times  after  our  engagement  terminated.  She  was  alwayi 
affable.  On  one  occasion,  while  passing  through  Bridgeport,  she  told  me  that  she 
had  been  sadly  harassed  in  giving  her  concerts.  "  People  cheat  me  and  swindle 
me  very  much,"  said  she,  "and  I  find  it  very  annoying  to  give  concerts  on  my 
own  account." 

I  was  always  supplied  with  complimentary  tickets  when  she  gave  concerts  in 
New  York,  and  on  the  occasion  of  her  last  appearance  in  America  I  visited  her 
in  her  room  back  of  the  stage,  and  bade  her  and  her  husband  adieu,  with  my  best 
wishes.  She  expressed  the  same  feeling  to  me  in  return.  She  told  me  she  should 
never  sing  much,  if  any  more,  in  public;  but  I  reminded  her  that  a  good  Provi 
dence  had  endowed  her  with  a  voice  which  enabled  her  to  contribute  in  an  emi 
nent  degree  to  the  enjoyment  of  her  fellow  beings,  and  if  she  no  longer  needed 
the  large  sums  of  money  which  they  were  willing  to  pay  for  this  elevating  and 
delightful  entertainment,  she  knew  by  experience  what  a  genuine  pleasure  she 
would  receive  by  devoting  the  money  to  the  alleviation  of  the  wants  and  sorrows 
of  those  who  needed  it. 

"Ah!  Mr.  Barnum,"  she  replied,  "  that  is  very  true;  and  it  would  be  ungrate- 
ful in  me  to  not  continue  to  use,  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor  and  lowly,  that  gift 
which  our  kind  Heavenly  Father  has  so  graciously  bestowed  upon  me.  Yes,  I 
will  continue  to  sing  so  long  as  my  voice  lasts,  but  it  will  be  mostly  for  charitable 
objects,  for  I  am  thankful  to  say  that  I  have  all  the  money  which  I  shall  ever 
need."  Pursuant  to  this  resolution,  the  larger  portion  of  the  concerts  which 
this  noble  lady  has  given  since  her  return  to  Europe  have  been  for  objects  of 
benevolence. 

If  she  consents  to  sing  for  a  charitable  object  in  London,  for  instance,  the  fact 
is  not  advertised  at  all,  but  the  tickets  are  readily  disposed  of  in  a  private,  quiet 
way,  at  a  guinea  and  half  a  guinea  each. 

After  so  many  months  of  anxiety,  labor  and  excitement,  in  the  Jenny  Lind 
enterprise,  it  will  readily  be  believed  that  I  desired  tranquillity.  I  spent  a  week 
at  Cape  May,  and  then  came  home  to  Iranistan,  where  I  remained  during  the 
entire  summer. 

JENNY  LIND  CONCERTS. 

TOTAL  RECEIPTS,   EXCEPTING  OF  CONCERTS  DEVOTED  TO  CHARITY. 

New  York  -$5,773  40 

4,993.50 

6,670.15 

9,840. as 

7,097.15 

8,263.30 

10,570.25 

10  g4g  45 

Philadelphia '.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. '.  5,'480>5 

"                5,728.65 

3,709.88 

4,815.48 

B;ilt  more  7,117.00 

8,S>7.05 

8,406.50 

8,121.33 

Washington  City 6,878.55 

"                       8,507.05 

Richmond 12,385.21 

Charleston 6,775  00 

"               3,653.75 

Havana 4,666.17 

"       2,837.92 

Havana 2,931  95 

New  Orleans 12,59985 




New  York  

$17,864.05 

No.  23. 



"           

14,203.03 

24. 

No.  1. 

«• 

.  12,519.59 

26. 

2. 

"              .... 

14,266.09 

27. 

3. 

" 

12,174.74 

28. 

4. 

"           

16,028.39 

29. 

5. 

Boston  

16,479.50 

30. 

6. 

" 

11  848.62 

31. 

7. 

" 

8,639.92 

32. 

8. 

" 

10,169.25 

33. 

9. 

Providence  

6.525.54 

34. 

10. 

Boston    

10.524.87 

35. 

11. 

" 

5,240.00 

36. 

12. 

" 

7,586.00 

37. 

13. 

Philadelphia  

9,291.25 

38. 

14. 

41                 .  . 

7,547.00 

39. 

15. 

" 

8,458.65 

40. 

16. 

New  York  

6,415.90 

41. 

17. 

" 

4.009.70 

42. 

18. 

" 

5,982.00 

43. 

19. 

" 

8,007.10 

44. 

20. 

•*           , 

6.334.20 

45. 

21. 

•' 

9,429.15 

46. 

22. 

9,912.17 

47. 

130 


CLOSE  OF  THE  CAMPAIGN". 


No.  48. 

New  Orleans  

$10,210.42    1 

*o.  71. 

Madison    

$3,693.25 

49. 

8,131.15 

72. 

9,339.75 

50. 

* 

6,019.85 

73. 

11,001.50 

51. 

•• 

6,644.00 

74 

"         

8,446.30 

52. 

«« 

9,720.80 

75. 

"         

8,954.18 

53. 

" 

7,545.50 

76. 

"         

6,500.40 

54. 

«* 

6,053.50 

77. 

Wheeling  

5,000.00 

65. 

i 

4,850.25 

78. 

Pittsburg  

7,210.58 

56. 

« 

4,495.85 

79. 

New  York  

6,858.42 

57. 

" 

6.630.35 

80. 

"          

5,453.00 

58. 

" 

4,745.10 

81. 

'          

5,403.70 

59. 

Natchez  

5,000.00 

82. 

7,378.35 

60. 

Memphis  

4,539.56 

83. 

'          

7,179.27 

61. 

St.  Louis  

7.811.85 

84. 

'          

6,641.00 

62. 

« 

7,961.92 

85. 

'         

6.917.13 

63. 

*« 

7,708.70 

86. 

"          

6.642.04 

64. 

" 

4,086.50 

87. 

"          

3.738.75 

65. 

" 

3,044.70 

88. 

"          

4,3:55.28 

66. 

Nashville  

7,786.30 

89. 

"          

5.339.23 

67. 

"           

4,248.00 

90. 

"          

4,087.03 

68. 

Louisville  

7,833.90 

91. 

"         

5.717.00 

69. 

* 

6.595.60 

92. 

"           ... 

9.525.80 

70. 

"         

5,000.00 

93. 

Philadelphia..  

3,852.75 

(•  SARITT  CONCERTS. — Of  Miss  Lind's  half  receipts  of  the  first  two  Concerts  she  devoted 
fll  XX)  to  charity  in  New  York.  She  afterwards  gave  Charity  Concerts  in  Boston,  Balti- 
more. Charleston,  Havana,  New  Orleans,  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  and  donated  large 
suma  for  the  like  purposes  in  Richmond,  Cincinnati  and  elsewhere.  There  were  also  several 
Benefit  Concerts,  for  the  Orchestra,  Le  Grand  Smith,  and  other  persons  and  objects. 


RECAPITULATION. 


NEW  YORK  35  CONCERTS. 

PHILADELPHIA 8         " 

BOSTON 7 

PROVIDENCE 1 

BALTIMORE 4 

WASHINGTON 2 

RICHMOND 1 

CHARLESTON 2 

HAVANA  3 

NEW  ORLEANS 12 

NATCHEZ 1 

MEMPHIS 1 

ST.  Louis 5 

NASHVILLE 2 

LOUISVILLE 3 

MADISON 1 

CINCINNATI 5 

WHEELING 1 

PITT8BUR8 1 


RECEIPTS,  $286,216.64 
48,aS4.41 
70,388.16 
6.535.54 
32U01.88 
15,385.60 
12,385.21 
10,428.75 
10,436.04 
87,646.12 
5.000.00 
4,539.56 
30,613.67 
12,034.30 
19,429.50 
3,693.25 
44,242.13 
5,000.00 
7,210.58 


AVERAGE,  $8.177.50 

'  6,110.55 

10.055.45 

'  6,525.54 

'  8,000.47 

7,692.80 

12,385.21 

5,214.37 

"  3,478.68 

"  7.303.84 

"  5,000.00 

4,539.56 

"  6,122.73 

"  6,017.15 

"  6.476.50 

"  3.693.25 

"  8,848.43 

5,000.00 

7.210.58 


TOTAL 96  CONGESTS.       RECEIPTS,  $712,161.34       AVERAGE,  $7,496.43 


JENNY  LIXD'S  RECEIPTS. 

From  the  Total  Receipts  of  Ninety-five  Concerts $712,161.34 

Deduct  the  receipts  of  the  first  two,  which,  as  between  P.  T.  Bar- 
nnm  and  Jenny  Lind,  were  aside  from  the  contract,  and  are 
not  numbered  in  the  Table 32,067.08 

Total  Receipts  of  Concerts  from  No.  1  to  No.  93 $680,094.26 

Deduct  the  Receipts  of  the  28  Concerts,  each  of 
which  fell  short  of  $5,500 $123,311.15 

Also  deduct  $5,500  for  each  of  the  remaining  65  Con- 
certs   357.500.00  480,811.15 


Leaving  the  total  excess,  as  above 

Being  equally  divided,  Miss  Lind's  portion  was  

I  paid  her  $1,000  for  each  of  the  93  Concerts 

Also  one-half  the  receipts  of  the  first  two  Concerts 

Amount  paid  to  Jenny  Lind 


$199,283.11 


$99,641.55 
93,000.00 
16,033.54 

$208,675.08 


CLOSE   OF  THE   CAMPAIGN.  131 

She  refunded  to  me  as  forfeiture,  per  contract,  in  case  she  with- 
drew after  the  100th  Concert $26,000 

She  also  paid  me  $1,000  each  for  the  seven  concerts  relinquished,  7,000          $32,000.00 

JENNY  LIND'S  net  avails  of  95  concerts $176,6*5.09 

P.  T.  BABNUM'S  gross  receipts,  alter  paying  Miss  Lind 535,486 .25 

TOTAI  RECEIPTS  of  95  Concerts $712,161.34 

PRICE  OF  TICKETS. — The  highest  prices  paid  for  tickets  were  at  auction, 'as  follows: — 
John  N.  Genin,  in  New  York,  $225;  Ossian  E.  Dodge,  in  Boston,  $625;  Col.  William  C.  Ross, 
in  Providence,  #650;  M.  A.  Root,  in  Philadelphia,  $625;  Mr.  D'Arcy,  in  New  Orleans,  $240; 
a  keeper  of  a  refreshment  saloon  in  St.  Louis,  $150;  a  Daguerreotypist,  in  Baltimore.  $100. 
1  ciinnot  now  recall  the  names  of  the  last  two.  After  the  sale  of  the  first  ticket  the  pre- 
•nium  usually  fell  to  $20,  an:!  «o  downward  in  the  scale  of  figures.  The  fixed  price  of  tick- 
eta  ranged  from  $7  to  $3.  Promenade  tickets  were  from  $2  to  $1  each. 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

OTHER   ENTERPRISES. 

IN  1849  I  had  projected  a  great  traveling  museum  and  menagerie,  and,  as  I 
had  neither  time  nor  inclination  to  manage  such  a  concern,  I  induced  Mr.  Seth 
B.  Howes,  justly  celebrated  as  a  "showman,"  to  join  me,  and  take  the  sole 
charge.  Mr.  Sherwood  E.  Stratton,  father  of  General  Tom  Thumb,  was  also 
admitted  to  partnership,  the  interest  being  in  thirds. 

In  carrying  out  a  portion  of  the  plan,  we  chartered  the  ship  "Regatta,"  Cap- 
tain Pratt,  and  despatched  her,  together  with  our  agents,  Messrs.  June  and 
Nutter,  to  Ceylon.  The  ship  left  New  York  in  May,  1850,  and  was  absent  one 
year.  Their  mission  was  to  procure,  either  by  capture  or  purchase,  twelve  or 
more  living  elephants,  besides  such  other  wild  animals  as  they  could  secure.  In 
order  to  provide  sufficient  drink  and  provender  for  a  cargo  of  these  huge  animals, 
we  purchased  a  large  quantity  of  hay  in  New  York.  Five  hundred  tons  were 
left  at  the  Island  of  St.  Helena,  to  be  taken  on  the  return  trip  of  the  ship,  and 
staves  and  hoops  of  water-casks  were  also  left  at  the  same  place. 

They  arrived  in  New  York  in  1851,  with  ten  elephants,  and  these  harnessed  ia 
pairs  to  a  chariot,  paraded  up  Broadway  past  the  Irving  House,  while  Jenny 
Land  was  staying  at  that  hotel,  on  the  occasion  of  her  second  visit  to  New  York. 
We  added  a  caravan  of  wild  animals  and  many  museum  curiosities,  the  entire 
outfit,  including  horses,  vans,  carriages,  tent,  etc.,  costing  $109,000,  and  com- 
menced operations,  with  the  presence  and  under  the  "patronage"  of  General 
Tom  Thumb,  who  traveled  nearly  four  years  as  one  of  the  attractions  of  "  Bar- 
num's  Great  Asiatic  Caravan,  Museum  and  Menagerie,"  returning  us  immense 
profits. 

At  the  end  of  that  time,  after  exhibiting  in  all  sections  of  the  country,  we 
sold  out  the  entire  establishment — animals,  cages,  chariots  and  paraphernalia, 
excepting  one  elephant,  which  I  retained  in  my  own  possession  two  months  for 
agricultural  purposes.  It  occurred  to  me  that  if  I  could  put  an  elephant  to 
plowing  for  a  while  on  my  farm  at  Bridgeport,  it  would  be  a  capital  advertise- 
ment for  the  American  Museum,  which  was  then,  and  always  during  my 
proprietorship  of  that  establishment,  foremost  in  my  thoughts. 

So  I  sent  him  to  Connecticut  in  charge  of  his  keeper,  whom  I  dressed  in  Oriental 
costume,  and  keeper  and  elephant  were  stationed  on  a  six-acre  lot  which  lay  close 
beside  the  track  of  the  New  York  and  New  Haven  railroad.  The  keeper  was 
furnished  with  a  time-table  of  the  road,  with  special  instructions  to  be  busily 
engaged  in  his  work  whenever  passenger  trains  from  either  way  were  passing 
through.  Of  course,  the  matter  soon  appeared  in  the  papers  and  went  the  entire 
rounds  of  the  press  in  this  country  and  even  in  Europe.  Hundreds  of  people 
came  many  miles  to  witness  the  novel  spectacle.*  Letters  poured  in  upon  me 
from  the  secretaries  of  hundreds  of  State  and  county  agricultural  societies 
throughout  the  Union,  stating  that  the  presidents  and  directors  of  such  societies 
had  requested  them  to  propound  to  me  a  series  of  questions  in  regard  to  the  new 

*  See  Illustration,  opposite. 

132 


OtHEB  EHTERPRISE8-.  133 

power  I  had  put  in  operation  on  my  farm.    These  questions  were  greatly  diver- 
sified, but  the  "general  run"  of  them  were  something  like  the  follo~.ving: 

1.  "Is the  elephant  a  profitable  agricultural  animal? " 

2.  "  How  much  can  an  elephant  plow  in  a  day? " 

3.  "  How  much  can  he  draw? " 

4.  "How  much  does  he  eat?" — this  question  was  invariably  asked,  and  was  si 
very  important  one. 

5.  "  Will  elephants  make  themselves  generally  useful  on  a  farm? " 

6.  "  What  is  the  price  of  an  elephant? " 

7.  "Where  can  elephants  be  purchased?" 

Then  would  follow  a  score  of  other  inquiries,  such  as,  whether  elephants  were 
easily  managed;  if  they  would  quarrel  with  cattle;  if  it  was  possible  to  breed 
them;  how  old  calf  elephants  must  be  before  they  would  earn  their  own  living: 
<nd  so  on  indefinitely.  I  began  to  be  alarmed  lest  some  one  should  buy  an 
elephant,  and  so  share  the  fate  of  the  man  who  drew  one  in  a  lottery,  and  did 
not  know  what  to  do  with  him.  I  accordingly  had  a  general  letter  printed, 
which  I  mailed  to  all  my  anxious  inquirers.  It  was  headed  "strictly  confiden- 
tial," and  I  then  stated,  begging  my  correspondents  "not  to  mention  it,"  that  to 
me  the  elephant  was  a  valuable  agricultural  animal,  because  he  was  an  excellent 
advertisement  to  my  Museum;  but  that  to  other  farmers  he  would  prove  very 
unprofitable  for  many  reasons.  In  the  first  place,  such  an  animal  would  cost  from 
$3,000  to  $10,000;  in  cold  weather  he  could  not  work  at  all;  in  any  weather  he 
could  not  earn  even  half  his  living ;  he  would  eat  up  the  value  of  his  own  head, 
trunk,  and  body  every  year;  and  I  begged  my  correspondents  not  to  do  so  fool- 
ish a  thing  as  to  undertake  elephant  farming. 

Newspaper  reporters  came  from  far  and  near,  and  wrote  glowing  accounts  of 
the  elephantine  performances.  Pictures  of  Barnum's  plowing  elephant  appeared 
in  illustrated  papers  at  home  and  abroad. 

The  six  acres  were  plowed  over  at  least  sixty  times  before  I  thought  the  adver- 
tisement sufficiently  circulated,  and  I  then  sold  the  elephant  to  Van  Amburgh's 
Menagerie. 

In  1851  I  became  a  part  owner  of  the  steamship  "North  America."  Our 
intention  in  buying  it  was  to  run  it  to  Ireland  as  a  passenger  and  freight  ship. 
The  project  was,  however,  abandoned,  and  Commodore  Cornelius  Vanderbilt 
bought  one-half  of  the  steamer,  while  the  other  half  was  owned  by  three  persons, 
of  whom  I  was  one.  The  steamer  was  sent  around  Cape  Horn  to  San  Francisco, 
and  was  put  into  the  Vanderbilt  line. 

After  she  had  made  several  trips  I  called  upon  Mr.  Vanderbilt,  at  his  office,  and 
introduced  myself,  as  this  was  the  first  time  we  had  met. 

"Is  it  possible  you  are  Barnurn?"  exclaimed  the  Commodore,  in  surprise, 
"why,  I  expected  to  see  a  monster,  part  lion,  part  elephant,  and  a  mixture  of 
rhinoceros  and  tiger!  Is  it  possible,"  he  continued,  "that  you  are  the  showman 
who  has  made  so  much  noise  in  the  world? " 

I  laughingly  replied  that  I  was,  and  added  that  if  I  too  had  been  governed  in 
my  anticipation  of  his  personal  appearance  by  the  fame  he  had  achieved  in  his 
line,  I  should  have  expected  to  have  been  saluted  by  a  steam  whistle,  and  to  have 
seen  him  dressed  in  a  pea  jacket,  blowing  off  steam,  and  crying  out  "all  aboard 
that's  going." 

"  Instead  of  which,"  replied  Mr.  Vanderbilt,  "  I  suppose  you  have  come  to  ask 
me  '  to  walk  up  to  the  Captain's  office  and  settle.' " 


134  OTHER   ENTERPRISES. 

After  this  interchange  of  civilities,  we  talked  about  the  success  of  tne  "  North 
America"  in  having  got  safely  around  the  Horn,  and  of  the  acceptable  manner 
in  which  she  was  doing  her  duty  on  the  Pacific  side. 

"  We  have  received  no  statement  of  her  earnings  yet,"  said  the  Commodore, 
"but  if  you  want  money,  give  your  receipt  to  our  treasurer,  and  take  some." 

A  few  months  subsequent  to  this,  I  sold  out  my  share  in  the  steamship  to  Mr. 
Daniel  Drew. 

Some  references  to  the  various  enterprises  and  "side  shows"  connected  with 
and  disconnected  from  my  Museum,  is  necessary  to  show  how  industriously  I 
have  catered  for  the  public's  amusement,  not  only  in  America  but  abroad.  When 
I  was  in  Paris  in  1&44,  in  addition  to  the  purchase  of  Robert  Houdin's  ingenious 
automaton  writer,  and  many  other  costly  curiosities  for  the  Museum,  1  ordered, 
at  an  expense  of  $3,000,  a  panoramic  diorama  of  the  obsequies  of  Napoleon. 
Every  event  of  that  grand  pageant,  from  the  embarkation  of  the  body  at  St. 
Helena,  to  its  entombment  at  the  Hotel  des  Invalides,  amid  the  most  gorgeous 
parade  ever  witnessed  in  France,  was  wonderfully  depicted.  This  exhibition, 
after  having  had  its  day  at  the  American  Museum,  was  sold,  and  extensively  aud 
profitably  exhibited  elsewhere.  While  I  was  in  London,  during  the  same  year,  I 
engaged  a  company  of  "  Campanalogians,  or  Lancashire  Bell  Ringers,"  then 
performing  in  Ireland,  to  make  an  American  tour.  They  were  really  admirable 
performers,  and  by  means  of  their  numerous  bells,  of  various  sizes,  they  produced 
the  most  delightful  music.  They  attracted  much  attention  in  various  parts  of 
the  United  States,  in  Canada,  and  in  Cuba. 

As  a  compensation  to  England  for  the  loss  of  the  Bell  Ringers,  I  despatched  an 
agent  to  America  for  a  party  of  Indians,  including  squaws.  He  proceeded  to 
Iowa,  and  returned  to  London  with  a  company  of  sixteen.  They  were  exhibited 
by  Mr.  Catlin  on  our  joint  account,  and  were  finally  left  in  his  sole  charge. 

On  my  first  return  visit  to  America  from  Europe,  I  engaged  Mr.  Faber,  an 
elderly  and  ingenious  German,  who  had  constructed  an  automaton  speaker.  It 
was  of  life-size,  and  when  worked  with  keys  similar  to  those  of  a  piano,  it  really 
articulated  words  and  sentences  with  surprising  distinctness.  My  agent  exhibited 
it  for  several  months  in  Egyptian  Hall,  London,  and  also  in  the  provinces.  This 
was  a  marvelous  piece  of  mechanism,  though  for  some  unaccountable  reason 
it  did  not  prove  a  success.  The  Duke  of  Wellington  visited  it  several  times,  and 
at  first  he  thought  that  the  "voice"  proceeded  from  the  exhibitor,  whom  he 
assumed  to  be  a  skillful  ventriloquist.  He  was  asked  to  touch  the  keys  with  his 
own  fingers,  and,  after  some  instruction  in  the  method  of  operating,  he  was  able 
to  make  the  machine  speak,  not  only  in  English  but  also  in  German,  with  which 
language  the  Duke  seemed  familiar.  Thereafter,  he  entered  his  name  on  the 
exhibitor's  autograph  book,  and  certified  that  the  "Automaton  Speaker"  was  an 
extraordinary  production  of  mechanical  genius. 

The  models  of  machinery  exhibited  in  the  Royal  Polytechnic  Institution  in 
London,  pleased  me  so  well  that  I  procured  a  duplicate;  also  duplicates  of  the 
"  Dissolving  Views,"  the  Chromatrope  and  Physioscope,  including  many  Ameri- 
can scenes  painted  expressly  to  my  order,  at  an  aggregate  cost  of  $7,000.  After 
they  had  been  exhibited  in  my  Museum,  they  were  sold  to  itinerant  showmen, 
and  some  of  them  were  afterwards  on  exhibition  in  various  parts  of  the  United 
States. 

In  June,  1850,  I  added  the  celebrated  Chinese  Collection  to  the  attractions  of 
the  American  Museum.  I  also  engaged  the  Chinese  Family,  consisting  of  two 
men,  two  "small-footed"  women  and  two  children. 


OTHER   ENTERPRISES.  135 

The  giants  whom  I  sent  to  America  were  not  the  greatest  of  my  curiosities, 
though  the  dwarfs  might  have  been  the  least.  The  "  Scotch  Boys"  were  inter- 
esting, not  so  much  on  account  of  their  weight,  as  for  the  mysterious  method  by 
which  one  of  them,  though  blindfolded,  answered  questions  put  by  the  other 
respecting  objects  presented  by  persons  who  attended  the  surprising  exhibition. 
The  mystery,  which  was  merely  the  result  of  patient  practice,  consisted  wholly 
in  the  manner  in  which  the  question  was  propounded;  in  fact,  the  question 
invariably  carried  its  own  answer;  for  instance: 

"What  is  this?"  meant  gold;  "Now  what  is  this?"  silver;  "Say  what  is  this?" 
copper;  "Tell  me  what  this  is?"  iron;  "What  is  the  shape?"  long;  "Now  what 
shape?"  round;  "Say  what  shape,"  square;  "Please  say  what  this  is,"  a  watch; 
"  Can  you  tell  what  is  in  this  lady's  hand?"  a  purse;  "  Now  please  say  what  this 
is?"  a  key;  "Come  now,  what  is  this?"  money;  "How  much?"  a  penny  "Now 
how  much?"  sixpence;  "  Say  how  much,"  a  quarter  of  a  dollar;  "  What  color  is 
this?  "black;  "Now  what  color  is  this?"  red;  "Say  what  color,"  green;  and  so 
on,  ad  infinitum.  To  such  perfection  was  this  brought  that  it  was  almost  impos- 
sible to  present  any  object  that  could  not  be  quite  closely  described  by  the  blind- 
folded boy.  This  is  the  key  to  all  exhibitions  of  what  is  called  "second  sight." 

In  1850,  the  celebrated  Bateman  children  acted  for  several  weeks  at  the  Ameri- 
can Museum,  and  in  June  of  that  year  I  sent  them  to  London  with  their  father 
and  Mr.  Le  Grand  Smith,  where  they  played  in  the  St.  James  Theater,  and 
afterwards  in  the  principal  provincial  theaters.  The  elder  of  these  children, 
Miss  Kate  Bateman,  subsequently  attained  the  highest  histronic  distinction  in 
America  and  abroad,  and  reached  the  very  head  of  her  profession. 

In  October,  1852,  having  stipulated  with  Mr.  George  A.  Wells  and  Mr.  Bush- 
nell  that  they  should  share  in  the  enterprise  and  take  the  entire  charge,  I  engaged 
Miss  Catherine  Hayes  and  Herr  Begnis,  to  give  a  series  of  sixty  concerts  in 
California,  and  the  engagement  was  fulfilled  to  our  entire  satisfaction.  Mr. 
Bushnell  afterwards  went  to  Australia  with  Miss  Hayes,  and  they  were  subse- 
quently married.  Both  of  them  are  dead. 

Before  setting  out  for  California,  Miss  Catherine  Hayes,  her  mother  and  sister, 
spent  several  days  at  Iranistan  and  were  present  at  the  marriage  of  my  eldest 
daughter,  Caroline,  to  Mr.  DaMd  W.  Thompson.  The  wedding  was  to  take  place 
in  the  evening,  and  in  the  afternoon  I  was  getting  shaved  in  a  barber-shop  in 
Bridgeport,  when  Mr.  Thompson  drove  up  to  the  door  in  great  haste  and 
exclaimed: 

"Mr.  Barnum,  Iranistan  is  in  flames!" 

I  ran  out  half -shaved,  with  the  lather  on  my  face,  jumped  into  his  wagon  and 
bade  him  drive  home  with  all  speed.  I  was  greatly  alarmed,  for  the  house  was 
full  of  visitors  who  had  come  from  a  distance  to  attend  the  wedding,  and  all  the 
costly  presents,  dresses,  refreshments,  and  everything  prepared  for  a  marriage 
celebration  to  which  nearly  a  thousand  guests  had  been  invited,  were  already  in 
my  bouse.  Mr.  Thompson  told  me  that  he  had  seen  the  flames  bursting  from  the 
roof,  and  it  seemed  to  me  that  there  was  little  hope  of  saving  the  building. 

My  mind  was  distressed,  not  so  much  at  the  great  pecuniary  loss  which  the  de- 
struction of  Iranistan  would  involve,  as  at  the  possibility  that  some  of  my  family 
or  visitors  would  be  killed  or  seriously  injured  in  attempting  to  save  something 
from  the  fire.  Then  I  thought  of  the  sore  disappointment  this  calamity  would 
cause  to  the  young  couple,  as  well  as  to  those  who  were  invited  to  the  wedding. 
I  saw  that  Mr.  Thompson  looked  pale  and  anxious. 


136  OTHEK  ENTERPSISES. 

"Never  mind!"  said  I;  "we  can't  help  these  things;  the  house  will  probably 
be  burned;  but  if  no  one  is  killed  or  injured,  you  shall  be  married  to-night,  if  we 
are  obliged  to  perform  the  ceremony  in  the  coach-house." 

On  our  way,  we  overtook  a  fire-company,  and  I  implored  them  to  "hurry  up 
their  machine."  Arriving  in  sight  of  Iranistan,  we  saw  huge  volumes  of  smoke 
rolling  out  from  the  roof  and  many  men  on  the  top  of  the  house  were  passing 
buckets  of  water  to  pour  upon  the  fire.  Fortunately,  several  men  had  been 
engaged  during  the  day  in  repairing  the  roof,  and  their  ladders  were  against  the 
house.  By  these  means  and  with  the  assistance  of  the  men  employed  upon  my 
grounds,  water  was  passed  very  rapidly,  and  the  flames  were  soon  subdued  with- 
out serious  damage.  The  inmates  of  Iranistan  were  thoroughly  frightened; 
Catherine  Hayes  and  other  visitors,  packed  their  trunks  and  had  them  carried 
out  on  the  lawn;  and  the  house  came  as  near  destruction  as  it  well  could,  and 
escape. 

While  Miss  Hayes  was  in  Bridgeport,  I  induced  her  to  give  a  concert  for  the 
benefit  of  the  "Mountain  Grove  Cemetery,"  and  the  large  proceeds  were  devoted 
to  the  erection  of  the  beautiful  stone  tower  and  gateway  at  the  entrance  of  that 
charming  ground.  The  land  for  this  cemetery,  about  eighty  acres,  had  been 
bought  by  me,  years  before,  from  several  farmers.  I  had  often  shot  over  the 
ground  while  hunting  a  year  or  two  before,  and  had  then  seen  its  admirable 
capabilities  for  the  purpose  to  which  it  was  eventually  devoted.  After  deeds  for 
the  property  were  secured,  it  was  offered  for  a  cemetery,  and  at  a  meeting  of 
citizens  several  lots  were  subscribed  for,  enough,  indeed,  to  cover  the  amount 
of  the  purchase  money.  Thus  was  begun  the  "Mountain  Grove  Cemetery," 
which  is  now  beautifully  laid  out  and  adorned  with  many  tasteful  and  costly 
monuments.*  Among  these  are  my  own  substantial  granite  monument,  the 
family  monuments  of  Harral,  Bishop,  Hubbell,  Lyon,  Wood,  Loomis,  Wordin, 
Hyde,  and  others,  and  General  Torn  Thumb  has  erected  a  tall  marble  shaft  which 
is  surmounted  by  a  life-size  statue  of  himself.  There  is  no  more  Charming  burial- 
ground  in  the  whole  country;  yet  when  the  project  was  suggested,  many  persons 
preferred  an  intermural  cemetry  to  this  rural  resting-place  for  their  departed 
friends;  though  now  all  concur  in  considering  it  fortunate  that  this  adjunct  was 
secured  to  Bridgeport  before  the  land  could  be  permanently  devoted  to  other 
purposes. 

Some  time  afterwards,  when  Mr.  Dion  Boucicault  visited  me  at  Bridgeport, 
at  my  solicitation,  he  gave  a  lecture  for  the  benefit  of  this  cemetery.  I  may  add 
that  on  several  occasions  I  have  secured  the  services  of  General  Tom  Thumb,  and 
others,  for  this  and  equally  worthy  objects  in  Bridgeport.  When  the  General 
first  returned  with  me  from  England,  he  gave  exhibitions  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Bridgeport  Charitable  Society.  September  28,  1867,  I  induced  him  and  his  wife, 
with  Commodore  Nutt  and  Minnie  Warren,  to  give  their  entertainment  for  the 
benefit  of  the  Bridgeport  Library,  thus  adding  $475  to  the  funds  of  that  institu- 
tion; and  on  one  occasion,  I  lectured  to  a  full  house  in  the  Methodist  Church,  and 
the  entire  receipts  were  given  to  the  library,  of  which  I  was  already  a  life 
member,  on  account  of  previous  subscriptions  and  contributions. 

*  See  Illustration,  page  144. 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 

WORK    A*ND    PLAY. 

IN  the  summer,  I  think,  of  1853, 1  saw  it  announced  in  the  uewspapei-s  that  Mr. 
Alfred  Bunn,  the  great  ex-manager  of  Drury  Lane  Theater,  in  London,  had 
arrived  in  Boston.  I  knew  Mr.  Bunn  by  reputation,  not  only  from  his  mana- 
gerial career,  but  from  the  fact  that  he  made  the  first  engagement  with  Jenny 
Lind  bo  appear  in  London.  This  engagement,  however,  Mr.  Lumley,  of  Her 
Majesty's  Theater,  induced  her  to  break,  he  standing  a  lawsuit  with  Mr.  Bunn, 
and  paying  heavy  damages.  I  had  never  met  Mr.  Bunn,  but  he  took  it  for 
granted  that  I  had  seen  him,  for  one  day  after  his  arrival  in  this  country,  a  burly 
Englishman  abruptly  stepped  into  my  private  office  in  the  Museum,  and,  assuming 
a  theatrical  attitude,  addressed  me: 

"Barnum,  do  you  remember  me?" 

I  was  confident  I  had  never  seen  the  man  before,  but  it  struck  me  at  once  that 
no  Englishman  1  ever  heard  of  would  be  likely  to  exhibit  more  presumption  or 
assumption  than  the  ex-manager  of  Drury  Lane,  and  I  jumped  at  the  conclusion : 

"  Is  not  this  Mr.  Bunn?" 

"Ah!  Ah!  my  boy!"  he  exclaimed,  slapping  me  familiarly  on  the  back,  "I 
thought  you  would  remember  me.  Well,  Barnum,  how  have  you  been  since  I 
last  saw  you!" 

I  replied  in  a  manner  that  would  humor  his  impression  that  we  were  old 
acquaintances,  and  during  his  two  hours'  visit  we  had  much  gossip  about  men 
and  things  in  London.  He  called  upon  me  several  times,  and  it  probably  never 
entered  into  his  mind  that  I  could  possibly  have  been  in  London  two  or  three 
years  without  having  made  the  personal  acquaintance  of  so  great  a  lion  as  Alfred 
Bunn. 

I  met  Mr.  Bunn  again  in  1858,  in  London,  at  a  dinner  party  of  a  mutual  friend, 
Mr.  Levy,  proprietor  of  the  London  Daily  Telegraph.  Of  course,  Bunn  and  I 
were  great  chums  and  very  old  and  intimate  acquaintances.  At  the  same  dinner, 
I  met  several  literary  and  dramatic  gentlemen. 

In  1851,  1852,  and  1853,  I  spent  much  of  my  time  at  my  beautiful  home  in 
Bridgeport,  going  very  frequently  to  New  York,  to  attend  to  matters  in  the 
Museum,  but  remaining  in  the  city  only  a  day  or  two  at  a  time.  I  resigned  the 
office  of  President  of  the  Fairfield  County  Agricultural  Society  in  1853,  but  the 
members  accepted  my  resignation,  only  on  condition  that  it  should  not  go  into 
effect  until  after  the  fair  of  1854.  During  my  administration,  the  society  held 
six  fairs  and  cattle-shows — four  in  Bridgeport  and  two  in  Stamford — and  the 
interest  in  these  gatherings  increased  from  year  to  year. 

Pickpockets  are  always  present  at  these  country  fairs,  and  every  year  there 
were  loud  complaints  of  the  depredations  of  these  operators.  In  1853  a  man  was 
caught  in  the  act  of  taking  a  pocket-book  from  a  country  farmer,  nor  was  this 
farmer  the  only  one  who  had  suffered  in  the  same  way.  The  scamp  was  arrested, 
and  proved  to  be  a  celebrated  English  pickpocket.  As  the  fair  would  close  the 
next  day,  and  as  most  persons  had  already  visited  it,  we  expected  our  receipts 
would  be  light. 

137 


138  WORK   AND    PLAY. 

Early  in  the  morning  the  detected  party  was  legally  examined,  plead  guilty, 
and  was  bound  over  for  trial  I  obtained  consent  from  the  sheriff  that  the  cul- 
prit should  be  put  in  the  fair  room  for  the  purpose  of  giving  those  who  had  been 
robbed  an  opportunity  to  identify  him.  For  this  purpose  he  was  handcuffed,  and 
placed  in  a  conspicuous  position,  where,  of  course,  he  was  "the  observed  of  all 
observers."  I  then  issued  handbills,  stating  that  as  it  was  the  last  day  of  the 
Fair,  the  managers  were  happy  to  announce  that  they  had  secured  extra  attrac- 
tions for  the  occasion,  and  would  accordingly  exhibit,  safely  handcuffed,  and 
without  extra  charge,  a  live  pickpocket,  who  had  been  caught  in  the  act  of 
robbing  an  honest  farmer  the  day  previous.  Crowds  of  people  rushed  in  "  to  see 
the  show."  Some  good  mothers  brought  their  children  ten  miles  for  that 
purpose,  and  our  treasury  was  materially  benefited  by  the  operation. 

At  the  close  of  my  presidency  in  1854,  I  was  requested  to  deliver  the  opening 
speech  at  our  county  fair,  which  was  held  at  Stamford.  As  I  was  not  able  to 
give  agricultural  advice,  I  delivered  a  portion  of  my  lecture  on  the  "  Philosophy 
of  Humbug."  The  next  morning,  as  I  was  being  shaved  in  the  village  barber's 
shop,  which  was  at  the  time  crowded  with  customers,  the  ticket-seller  to  the 
fair  came  in. 

"  What  kind  of  a  house  did  you  have  last  night?"  asked  one  of  the  gentlemen 
in  waiting. 

"  Oh,  first-rate,  of  course.  Barnum  always  draws  a  crowd,"  was  the  reply  of 
the  ticket-seller,  to  whom  I  was  not  known. 

Most  of  the  gentlemen  present,  however,  knew  me,  and  they  found  much  diffi- 
culty in  restraining  their  laughter. 

"  Did  Barnum  make  a  good  speech?"  I  asked. 

"  I  did  not  hear  it.  I  was  out  in  the  ticket-office.  I  guess  it  was  pretty  good, 
for  I  never  heard  so  much  laughing  as  there  was  all  through  his  speech.  But  it 
makes  no  difference  whether  it  was  good  or  not,"  continued  the  ticket-seller, 
"  the  people  will  go  to  see  Barnum." 

"Barnum  must  be  a  curious  chap,"  I  remarked. 

"  Well,  I  guess  he  is  up  to  all  the  dodges." 

"  Do  you  know  him?"  I  asked. 

"Not  personally,"  he  replied;  "  but  I  always  get  into  the  Museum  for  nothing. 
1  know  the  doorkeeper,  and  he  slips  me  in  free." 

"Barnum  would  not  like  that,  probably,  if  he  knew  it,"  I  remarked 

"  But  it  happens  he  don't  know  it,"  replied  the  ticket-seller,  in  great  glee. 

"  Barnum  was  on  the  cars  the  other  day,  on  his  way  to  Bridgeport,"  said  I, 
"  and  I  heard  one  of  the  passengers  blowing  him  up  terribly  as  a  humbug.  He 
was  addressing  Barnum  at  the  time,  but  did  not  know  him.  Barnum  joined  in 
lustily,  and  indorsed  everything  the  man  said.  When  the  passenger  learned 
whom  he  had  been  addressing,  I  should  think  he  must  have  felt  rather  flat." 

"  I  should  think  so,  too,"  said  the  ticket-seller. 

This  was  too  much,  and  we  all  indulged  in  a  burst  of  laughter;  still  the  ticket- 
seller  suspected  nothing.  After  I  had  left  the  shop,  the  barber  told  him  who  I 
was.  I  called  into  the  ticket-office  on  business  several  tunes  during  the  day,  but 
the  poor  ticket-seller  kept  his  face  turned  from  me,  and  appeared  so  chap-fallen 
that  I  did  not  pretend  to  recognize  him  as  the  hero  of  the  joke  in  the  barber's 
shop. 

This  incident  reminds  me  of  numerous  similar  ones  which  have  occurred  at 
various  times.  On  one  occasion — it  was  in  1847 — I  was  on  board  the  steamboat 
from  New  York  to  Bridgeport.  As  we  approached  the  harbor  of  the  latter  city 


WORK  AND   PLAY.  139 

a  stranger  desired  me  to  point  out  "  Baraum's  bouse  "  from  the  upper  deck.  1 
did  so,  whereupon  a  bystander  remarked,  "I  know  all  about  that  house,  for  1 
was  engaged  in  painting  there  for  several  months  while  Barnum  was  in  Europe." 
He  then  proceeded  to  say  that  it  was  the  meanest  and  most  ill-contrived  house  he 
ever  saw.  "It  will  cost  old  Barnum  a  mint  of  money  and  not  be  worth  two 
cents  after  it  is  finished,"  he  added. 

"I  suppose  old  Barnum  don't  pay  very  punctually,"  I  remarked. 

Oh,  yes,  he  pays  punctually  every  Saturday  night — thnre's  no  trouble  about 
that;  he  has  made  half  a  million  by  exhibiting  a  little  boy  whom  he  took  from 
Bridgeport,  and  whom  we  never  considered  any  great  shakes  till  Barnum  took 
him  and  trained  him." 

Soon  afterwards  one  of  the  passengers  told  him  who  I  was,  whereupon  he 
secreted  himself,  and  was  not  seen  again  while  I  remained  on  the  boat. 

On  another  occasion,  I  went  to  Boston  by  the  Fall  River  route.  Arriving 
before  sunrise,  I  found  but  one  carriage  at  the  depot.  I  immediately  engaged  it, 
and,  giving  the  driver  the  check  for  my  baggage,  told  him  to  take  me  directly  to 
the  Revere  House,  as  I  was  in  great  haste,  and  enjoined  him  to  take  in  no  other 
passengers,  and  I  would  pay  his  demands.  He  promised  compliance  with  my 
wishes,  but  soon  afterwards  appeared  with  a  gentleman,  two  ladies,  and  several 
children,  whom  he  crowded  into  the  carriage  with  me,  and,  placing  their  trunks 
on  the  baggage  rack,  started  off.  I  thought  there  was  no  use  in  grumbling,  and 
consoled  myself  with  the  reflection  that  the  Revere  House  was  not  far  away. 
He  drove  up  one  street  and  down  another,  for  what  seemed  to  me  a  very  long 
time,  but  I  was  wedged  in  so  closely  that  I  could  not  see  what  route  he  was 
taking. 

After  half  an  hour's  drive  he  halted,  and  I  found  we  were  at  the  Lowell  Rail- 
way depot.  Here  my  fellow-passengers  alighted,  and,  after  a  long  delay,  the 
driver  delivered  their  baggage,  received  his  fare,  and  was  about  closing  the  car- 
riage door  preparatory  to  starting  again.  I  was  so  thoroughly  vexed  at  the 
shameful  manner  in  which  he  had  treated  me,  that  I  remarked: 

"Perhaps  you  had  better  wait  till  the  Lowell  train  arrives;  you  may  possibly 
get  another  load  of  passengers.  Of  course  my  convenience  is  of  no  consequence. 
I  suppose  if  you  land  me  at  the  Revere  House  any  time  this  week,  it  will  be  as 
much  as  I  have  a  right  to  expect." 

"I  beg  your  pardon,"  he  replied,  "but  that  was  Barnum  and  his  family.  He 
was  very  anxious  to  get  here  in  time  for  the  first  train,  so  I  stuck  him  for  $2,  and 
now  I'll  carry  you  to  the  Revere  House  free." 

"  What  Barnum  is  it?''  I  asked. 

"  The  Museum  and  Jenny  Lind  man,"  he  replied. 

The  compliment  and  the  shave  both  having  been  intended  for  me,  I  was  of 
course  mollified,  and  replied,  "You  are  mistaken,  my  friend,  Jam  Barnum." 

"Coachee"  was  thunderstruck,  and  offered  all  sorts  of  apologies. 

"A  friend  at  the  other  depot  told  me  that  I  had  Mr.  Barnum  on  board,"  said 
he,  "  and  I  really  supposed  he  meant  the  other  man.  When  I  come  to  notice  you, 
I  perceive  my  mistake,  but  I  hope  you  will  forgive  me.  I  have  carried  you 
frequently  before,  and  hope  you  will 'give  me  your  custom  while  you  are  in 
Boston.  I  never  will  make  such  a  mistake  again." 

In  the  spring  of  1851,  the  Connecticut  legislature  chartered  the  Pequonnock 
Bank  of  Bridgeport,  with  a  capital  of  two  hundred  thousand  dollars.  I  had  no 
interest  whatever  in  the  charter,  and  did  not  even  know  that  an  application  was 
to  be  made  for  it.  More  banking  capital  was  needed  in  Bridgeport  in  consequence 


140  WOKK   AND    PLAY. 

of  the  great  increase  of  trade  and  manufactures  in  that  growing  and  prosperous 
city,  and  this  fact  appearing  in  evidence,  the  charter  was  granted  as  a  public 
benefit.  The  stock-books  were  opened  under  the  direction  of  State  commissioners, 
according  to  the  laws  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  nearly  double  the  amount  of 
capital  was  subscribed  on  the  first  day.  The  stock  was  distributed  by  the 
commissioners  among  several  hundred  applicants.  Circumstances  unexpectedly 
occurred  which  induced  me  to  accept  the  presidency  of  the  bank,  in  compliance 
with  the  unanimous  vote  of  its  directors.  Feeling  that  I  could  not,  from  my 
many  avocations,  devote  the  requisite  personal  attention  to  the  duties  of  the 
office,  C.  B.  HubbeU,  Esq.,  then  mayor  of  Bridgeport,  was  at  my  request  appointed 
vice-president  of  the  institution. 

In  the  fall  of  1852  a  proposition  was  made  by  certain  parties  to  commence  the 
publication  of  an  illustrated  weekly  newspaper  in  the  city  of  New  York.  The 
field  seemed  to  be  open  for  such  an  enterprise,  and  I  invested  twenty  thousand 
dollars  in  the  concern,  as  special  partner,  in  connection  with  two  other  gentlemen 
who  each  contributed  twenty  thousand  dollars,  as  general  partners.  Within  a 
month  after  the  publication  of  the  first  number  of  the  Illustrated  News,  which 
was  issued  on  the  first  day  of  January,  1853,  our  weekly  circulation  had  reached 
seventy  thousand.  Numerous  and  almost  insurmountable  difficulties,  for  novices 
in  the  business,  continued  however  to  arise,  and  my  partners,  becoming  weary 
and  disheartened  with  constant  over-exertion,  were  anxious  to  wind  up  the 
enterprise  at  the  end  of  the  first  year.  The  good-will  and  the  engravings  were 
sold  to  Gleascm's  Factorial,  in  Boston,  and  the  concern  was  closed  without  loss. 

In  February,  1854,  numerous  stockholders  applied  to  me  to  accept  the  presi- 
dency of  the  Crystal  Palace,  or,  as  it  was  termed,  "The  Association  for  the 
Exhibition  of  the  Industry  of  all  Nations."  I  utterly  declined  listening  to  such 
a  project,  as  I  felt  confident  that  the  novelty  had  passed  away,  and  that  it  would 
be  difficult  to  revive  public  interest  in  the  affair. 

Shortly  afterwards,  however,  I  was  waited  upon  by  numerous  influential  gen- 
tlemen, and  strongly  urged  to  allow  my  name  to  be  used.  I  repeatedly  objected 
to  this,  and  at  last  consented,  much  against  my  own  judgment  Having  been 
elected  one  of  the  directors,  I  was  by  that  body  chosen  president.  I  accepted 
the  office  conditionally,  reserving  the  right  to  decline  if  I  thought,  upon  investi- 
gation, that  there  was  no  vitality  left  in  the  institution.  Upon  examining  the 
accounts  said  to  exist  against  the  association,  many  were  pronounced  indefensible 
by  those  who  I  supposed  knew  the  facts  in  the  case,  while  various  debts  existing 
against  the  concern  were  not  exhibited  when  called  for,  and  I  knew  nothing  of 
their  existence  until  after  I  accepted  the  office  of  president.  I  finally  accepted 
it,  only  because  no  suitable  person  could  be  found  who  was  willing  to  devote  his 
entire  time  and  services  to  the  enterprise,  and  because  I  was  frequently  urged  by 
Erectors  and  stockholders  to  take  hold  of  it  for  the  benefit  of  the  city  at  large, 
inasmuch  as  it  was  well  settled  that  the  Palace  would  be  permanently  closed  early 
in  April,  1854,  if  I  did  not  take  the  helm. 

These  considerations  moved  me,  and  I  entered  upon  my  duties  with  all  the 
vigor  which  I  could  command.  To  save  it  from  bankruptcy,  I  advanced  large 
sums  of  money  for  the  payment  of  debts,  and  tried  by  every  legitimate  means  to 
create  an  excitement  and  bring  it  into  life.  By  extraneous  efforts,  such  as  the 
Re-inauguration,  the  Monster  Concerts  of  Jullien,  the  Celebration  of  Independ- 
ence, etc.,  it  was  temporarily  revived,  but  it  was  up-hill  work,  and  I  resigned 
the  presidency. 


WORK   AND   PLAT.  141 

The  following  trifling  incident,  which  occurred  at  Iranistan  in  the  winter  of 
1852,  has  been  called  to  my  mind  by  a  lady  friend  from  Philadelphia,  who  was 
visiting  us  at  the  time.  The  poem  was  sent  to  me  soon  after  the  occurrence,  but 
was  lost  and  the  subject  forgotten  until  my  Philadelphia  friend  recently  sent  it 
to  me  with  the  wish  that  I  should  insert  it  in  the  present  volume: 

WINTER   BOUQUETS. 

AN  INCIDENT  IN  THE  UFE  OJ1  AN  AMERICAN   CITIZEN. 

THE  poor  man's  garden  lifeless  lay 

Beneath  a  fall  of  snow ; 
But  Art  in  costly  greenhouses, 

Keeps  Summer  in  full  glow. 
And  Taste  paid  gold  for  bright  bouquets. 

The  parlor  vase  that  drest, 
That  scented  Fashion's  gray  boudoir, 

Or  bloomed  on  Beauty's  breast. 

A  rich  man  sat  beside  the  flre, 

Within  his  sculptured  halls  ; 
Brave  heart,  clear  head,  and  busy  hand 

Had  reared  those  stately  walls. 
He  to  his  gardener  spake,  and  said 

In  tone  of  quiet  glee— 
"  1  want  a  hundred  fine  bouquets — 

Canst  make  them,  John,  for  me  ?" 

John's  eyes  became  exceeding  round, 

This  question  when  he  heard; 
He  gazed  upon  his  master, 

And  he  answered  not  a  word. 
"  Well,  John,"  the  rich  man  laughing  said, 

"  If  these  too  many  be, 
What  sayest  to  half  the  number,  man  ? 

Canst  fifty  make  for  me  ?  " 

Now  John  prized  every  flower,  as  'twere 

A  daughter  or  a  son  ; 
And  thought,  like  Regan — "  what  the  need 

Of  fifty,  or  of  one?v' 
But,  keeping  back  the  thought,  he  said, 

"  I  think,  sir,  that  I  might; 
But  it  would  leave  my  lady's  flowers 

In  very  ragged  plight." 

"  Well,  John,  thy  vegetable  pets 

Must  needs  respected  be  ; 
We'll  halve  the  number  once  again— 

Make  twenty-five  for  me. 
And  hark  ye,  John,  when  they  are  made 

Come  up  and  let  me  know  ; 
And  I'll  give  thee  a  list  of  those 

To  whom  the  flowers  must  go." 

The  twenty-five  bouquets  were  made, 

And  round  the  village  sent ; 
And  to  whom  thinkest  thou,  my  friend, 

These  floral  jewels  went? 
Not  to  the  beautiful  and  proud — 

Not  to  the  rich  and  gay— 
\\'ho,  Dives-like,  at  Luxury's  feast 

Are  seated  every  day. 

An  aged  Pastor,  on  his  desk 

Saw  those  fair  preachers  stand; 
A  Widow  wept  upon  the  gift, 

And  blessed  the  giver's  hand. 
Where  Poverty  bent  o'er  her  task, 

They  cheered  the  lonely  room; 
Anil  round  the  bed  where  sickness  lay, 

They  breathed  Health's  Iresli  perfume. 


142  WORK  AND   PLAY. 

Oh!  kindly  heart  and  open  hand — 

Those  flowers  in  dust  are  trod, 
Bat  they  bloom  to  weave  a  wreath  for  thee, 

In  the  Paradise  of  God. 
Sweet  is  the  Minstrel's  task,  whose  song 

Of  deeds  like  these  may  tell ; 
And  long  may  he  have  power  to  give, 

Who  wields  that  power  so  well  I 

MBS.  ANNA  BAC 

Pim.ATMtI.PP  A, 


UHAPTEK    XXV. 

THE   JEROME   CLOCK   COMPANY   ENTANGLEMENT. 

I  NOW  come  to  a  series  of  events  which,  all  things  considered,  constitute  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  experiences  of  my  life — an  experience  which  brought  me 
much  pain  and  many  trials;  which  humbled  my  pride  and  threatened  me  with 
hopeless  financial  ruin;  and  yet,  nevertheless,  put  new  blood  in  my  veins,  fresh 
vigor  in  my  action,  warding  off  all  temptation  to  rust  in  the  repose  which  afflu- 
ence induces,  and  developed,  I  trust,  new  and  better  elements  of  manliness  in 
my  character. 

When  the  blow  fell  upon  me,  I  thought  I  could  never  recover;  the  event  has 
shown,  however,  that  I  have  gained  both  in  character  and  fortune,  and  what 
threatened,  for  years,  to  be  my  ruin,  has  proved  one  of  the  most  fortunate  hap- 
penings of  my  career.  The  "Bull  Run"  of  my  life's  battle  was  a  crushing 
defeat,  which,  unknown  to  me  at  the  time,  only  presaged  the  victories  which 
were  to  follow. 

It  is  vital  to  the  narrative  that  I  should  give  some  account  of  the  new  city, 
East  Bridgeport,  and  my  interests  therein,  which  led  directly  to  my  subsequent 
complications  with  the  Jerome  Clock  Company. 

In  1851,  I  purchased  from  Mr.  William  H.  Noble,  of  Bridgeport,  the  undivided 
half  of  his  late  father's  homestead,  consisting  of  fifty  acres  of  land,  lying  on  the 
eastside  of  the  river,  opposite  the  city  of  Bridgeport.  We  intended  this  as  the 
nucleus  of  a  new  city,  which  we  concluded  could  soon  be  built  up,  in  consequence 
of  many  natural  advantages  that  it  possesses. 

Before  giving  publicity  to  our  plans,  however,  we  purchased  one  hundred  and 
seventy-four  acres  contiguous  to  that  which  we  already  owned,  and  laid  out  the 
entire  property  in  regular  streets,  and  lined  them  with  trees,  reserving  a  beauti- 
ful grove  of  six  or  eight  acres,  which  we  enclosed,  and  converted  into  a  public 
park.*  We  then  commenced  selling  alternate  lots,  at  about  the  same  price  which 
Hie  land  cost  us  by  the  acre,  always  on  condition  that  a  suitable  dwelling-house, 
.  store,  or  manufactory  should  be  erected  upon  the  land,  within  one  year  from  the 
date  of  purchase:  that  every  building  should  be  placed  at  a  certain  distance  from 
the  street,  in  a  style  of  architecture  approved  by  us;  that  the  grounds  should  be 
enclosed  with  acceptable  fences,  and  kept  clean  and  neat,  with  other  conditions 
which  would  render  the  locality  a  desirable  one  for  respectable  residents,  and 
operate  for  the  mutual  benefit  of  all  persons  who  should  become  settlers  in  the 
new  city. 

This  entire  property  consists  of  a  beautiful  plateau  of  ground,  lying  within 
less  than  half  a  mile  of  the  center  of  Bridgeport  city.  Considering  the  supe- 
riority of  the  situation,  it  is  a  wonder  that  the  city  of  Bridgeport  was  not 
originally  founded  upon  that  side  of  the  river.  The  late  Dr.  Timothy  Dwight, 
for  a  long  time  President  of  Yale  College,  in  his  "  Travels  in  New  England  in 
1815,"  says  of  the  locality: 

"There  is  not  in  the  State  a  prettier  village  than  the  borough  of  Bridgeport. 
In  the  year  1783,  there  were  scarcely  half  a  dozen  houses  in  this  place.  It  now 
contains  probably  more  than  one  hundred,  built  on  both  sides  of  Pughqiiomnu-k 

*  We  iruned  this  "  Washington  Park  "  iiiul  subsequently  presented  it  to  the  city. 

143 


144          THE  JEROME  CLOCK  COMPANY  ENTANGLEMENT. 

(Pequonnock)  river,  a  beautiful  mill-stream,  forming  at  its  mouth  the  harbor  of 
Bridgeport.  The  situation  of  this  village  is  very  handsome,  particularly  on  the 
eastern  side  of  the  river.  A  more  cheerful  and  elegant  piece  of  ground  can 
scarcely  be  imagined  than  the  point  which  stretches  between  the  Pughquonnuck 
and  the  old  mill-brook;  and  the  prospects  presented  by  the  harbors  at  the  mouths 
of  these  streams,  the  Sound,  and  the  surrounding  country,  are,  in  a  fine  season, 
gay  and  brilliant,,  perhaps  without  a  parallel." 

This  "cheerful  and  elegant  piece  of  ground,"  as  Dr.  D wight  so  truly  describes 
it,  had  only  been  kept  from  market  by  the  want  of  means  of  access.  A  new  foot- 
bridge was  built,  connecting  this  place  with  the  city  of  Bridgeport,  and  a  public 
toll-bridge  which  belonged  to  us,  was  thrown  open  to  the  public  free.  We  also 
obtained  from  the  State  Legislature  a  charter  for  erecting  a  toll-bridge  between 
the  two  bridges  already  existing,  and  under  that  charter  we  put  up  a  fine  covered 
draw-bridge  at  a  cost  of  $16,000,  which  also  we  made  free  to  the  public  for 
several  years.  We  built  and  leased  to  a  union  company  of  young  coach-makers 
a  large  and  elegant  coach  manufactory,  which  was  one  of  the  first  building^ 
erected  there,  and  which  went  into  operation  on  the  first  of  January,  1852,  and 
was  the  beginning  of  the  extensive  manufactories  which  were  subsequently  built 
in  East  Bridgeport. 

Besides  the  inducement  which  we  held  out  to  purchasers  to  obtain  their  lots  at 
a  merely  nominal  price,  we  advanced  one-half,  two-thirds,  and  frequently  all  the 
funds  necessary  to  erect  their  buildings,  permitting  them  to  repay  us  in  sums  as 
small  as  five  dollars,  at  their  own  convenience.  This  arrangement  enabled  many 
persons  to  secure  and  ultimately  pay  for  homes  which  they  could  not  otherwise 
have  obtained.  We  looked  for  our  profits  solely  to  the  rise  in  the  value  of  the 
reserved  lots,  which  we  were  confident  must  ensue.  These  extraordinary  inductr 
ments  led  many  persons  to  build  in  the  new  city,  and  it  began  to  develop  and 
increase  with  a  rapidity  rarely  witnessed  in  this  section  of  the  country. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that,  in  1851,  my  pet  scheme  was  to  build  up  a  city  in  East 
Bridgeport. 

I  can  truly  say  that  mere  money-making  was  a  secondary  consideration  in  my 
scheme.  I  wanted  to  build  a  city  on  the  beautiful  plateau  across  the  river;  in 
the  expressive  phrase  of  the  day,  I  "had  East  Bridgeport  on  the  brain."  Who- 
ever approached  me  with  a  project  which  looked  to  the  advancement  of  my  new 
city,  touched  my  weak  side  and  found  me  an  eager  listener,  and  it  was  in  this 
way  that  the  coming  city  connected  me  with  that  source  of  so  many  annoyances 
and  woes,  the  Jerome  Clock  Company. 

There  was  a  small  clock  manufactory  in  the  town  of  Litchfield,  Connecticut,  in 
which  I  became  a  stockholder  to  the  amount  of  six  or  seven  thousand  dollars, 
and  my  duties  as  a  director  in  the  company  called  me  occasionally  to  Litchfield 
and  made  me  somewhat  acquainted  with  the  clock  business.  Thinking  of  plans 
to  forward  my  pet  East  Bridgeport  enterprise,  it  occurred  to  me  that  if  the 
Ljtchfield  clock  concern  could  be  transferred  to  my  prospective  new  city,  it 
would  necessarily  bring  many  families,  thus  increasing  the  growth  of  the  place 
and  the  value  of  the  property.  Negotiations  were  at  once  commenced  and  the 
desired  transfer  of  the  business  was  the  result.  A  new  stock  company  was 
formed  under  the  name  of  the  "  Terry  &  Barnum  Manufacturing  Company 
and  in  1852  a  factory  was  built  in  East  Bridgeport. 

In  1855,  I  received  a  suggestion  from  a  citizen  of  New  Haven,  that  the  Jerome 
Clock  Company,  then  reputed  to  be  a  wealthy  concern,  should  be  remo\  ed  to 
East  Bridgeport,  and  shortly  afterwards  I  was  visited  at  Iranistan  by  Mr.  Chaiui- 


MOUNTAIN  GROVE  CEMETERY. 


THE   JEROME   CLOCK    COMPANY   ENTANGLEMENT.  145 

cey  Jerome,  the  President  of  that  company.  The  result  of  this  visit  was  a 
proposition  from  the  agent  of  the  company,  who  also  held  power  of  attorney  for 
the  president,  that  I  should  lend  my  name  as  security  for  $110,000  in  aid  of  the 
Jerome  Clock  Company,  and  the  proffered  compensation  was  the  transfer  of  this 
great  manufacturing  concern,  with  its  seven  hundred  to  one  thousand  operatives, 
to  my  beloved  East  Bridgeport.  It  was  just  the  bait  for  the  fish;  I  was  all 
attention;  yet  I  must  do  my  judgment  the  justice  to  say  that  I  called  for  proofs, 
strong  and  ample,  that  the  great  company  deserved  its  reputation  as  a  substantial 
enterprise  that  might  safely  be  trusted. 

Accordingly,  I  was  shown  an  official  report  of  the  directors  of  the  company : 
exhibiting  a  capital  of  $400,000,  and  a  surplus  of  $187,000,  in  all,  $587,000.  The 
need  for  $110,000  more,  was  on  account  of  a  dull  season,  and  the  market  glutted 
with  the  goods,  and  immediate  money  demands  which  must  be  met.  I  was  also 
impressed  with  the  pathetic  tale  that  the  company  was  exceedingly  loth  to 
dismiss  any  of  the  operatives,  who  would  suffer  greatly  if  their  only  dependence 
for  their  daily  food  was  taken  away. 

The  official  statement  seemed  satisfactory,  and  I  cordially  sympathized  with 
the  philanthropic  purpose  of  keeping  the  workmen  employed,  even  in  the  dull 
season.  The  company  was  reputed  to  be  rich;  the  President,  Mr.  Chauncey 
Jerome,  had  built  a  church  in  New  Haven,  at  a  cost  of  $40,000,  and  proposed  to 
present  it  to  a  congregation;  he  had  given  a  clock  to  a  church  in  Bridgeport,  and 
these  things  showed  that  he,  at  least,  thought  he  was  wealthy.  The  Jerome 
clocks  were  for  sale  all  over  the  world,  even  in  China,  where  the  Celestials  were 
said  to  take  out  the  "movements,"  and  use  the  cases  for  little  temples  for  their 
idols,  thus  proving  that  faith  was  possible  without  "  works."  So  wealthy  and  so 
widely-known  a  company  would  surely  be  a  grand  acquisition  to  my  city. 

Further  testimony  came  in  the  form  of  a  letter  from  the  cashier  of  one  of  the 
New  Haven  banks,  expressing  the  highest  confidence  in  the  financial  strength  of 
the  concern,  and  much  satisfaction  that  I  contemplated  giving  temporary  aid 
which  would  keep  so  many  workmen  and  their  families  from  suffering,  and  per- 
haps starvation.  I  had  not,  at  the  time,  the  slightest  suspicion  that  my  voluntary 
correspondent  had  any  interest  in  the  transfer  of  the  Jerome  Company  from  Ne-w 
Haven  to  East  Bridgeport,  though  I  was  subsequently  informed  that  the  bank,  of 
which  my  correspondent  was  the  cashier,  was  almost  the  largest,  if  not  the 
largest,  creditor  of  the  clock  company. 

Under  all  the  circumstances,  and  influenced  by  the  rose-colored  representations 
made  to  me,  not  less  than  by  my  mania  to  push  the  growth  of  my  new  city,  I 
finally  accepted  the  proposition  and  consented  to  an  agreement  that  I  would  lend 
the  clock  company  my  notes  for  a  sum  not  to  exceed  $50,000,  and  accept  drafts 
to  an  amount  not  to  exceed  $60,000.  It  was  thoroughly  understood  that  I  was  in 
no  case  to  be  responsible  for  one  cent  in  excess  of  $110,000.  I  also  received  the 
written  guaranty  of  Chauncey  Jerome  that  in  no  event  should  I  lose  by  the  loan, 
as  he  would  become  personally  responsible  for  the  repayment.  I  was  willing 
that  my  notes,  when  taken  up,  should  be  renewed,  I  cared  not  how  often,  pro- 
vided the  stipulated  maximum  of  $110,000  should  never  be  exceeded.  I  was 
weak  enough,  however,  un-ler  the  representation  that  it  was  impossible  to  say 
exactly  when  it  would  be  necessary  to  use  the  notes,  to  put  my  name  to  several 
notes  for  $3,000,  $5,000,  and  $10,000,  leaving  the  date  of  payment  blank,  but  it 
was  agreed  that  the  blanks  should  be  filled  to  make  the  notes  payable  in  five, 
ten,  or  even  sixty  days  from  date,  according  to  the  exigencies  of  the  case,  and 
1  was  careful  to  keep  a  memorandum  of  the  several  amounts  of  the  notes. 

7 


146  THE   JEROME   CLOCK   COMPANY    ENTANGLEMENT. 

On  the  other  side  it  was  agreed  that  the  Jerome  Company  should  exchange  its 
stock  with  the  Terry  &  Barnum  stockholders  and  thus  absorb  that  company  and 
unite  the  entire  business  in  East  Bridgeport.  It  was  scarcely  a  month,  before  the 
secretary  wrote  me  that  the  company  would  soon  be  in  a  condition  to  "snap  its 
fingers  at  the  banks." 

Nevertheless,  three  months  after  the  consolidation  of  the  companies,  a  refer- 
ence to  my  memoranda  showed  that  I  had  already  become  responsible  for  the 
stipulated  sum  of  $110, 000.  I  was  then  called  upon  in  New  York  by  the  agent,  who 
wanted  five  notes  of  $5,000  each,  and  I  declined  to  furnish  them,  unless  I  should 
receive  in  return  an  equal  amount  of  my  own  canceled  notes,  since  he  assured 
me  they  were  canceling  these  "every  week."  The  canceled  notes  were  brought 
to  me  next  day,  and  I  renewed  them.  This  I  did  frequently,  always  receiving 
canceled  notes,  till  finally  my  confidence  in  the  company  became  so  established, 
that  I  did  not  ask  to  see  the  notes  that  had  been  taken  up,  but  furnished  new 
accommodation  paper  as  it  was  called  for. 

By  and  by  I  heard  that  the  banks  began  to  hesitate  about  discounting  my 
paper,  and  knowing  that  I  was  good  for  $110,000  several  times  over,  I  wondered 
what  was  the  matter,  till  the  discovery  came  at  last  that  my  notes  had  not  been 
taken  up  as  was  represented,  and  that  some  of  the  blank  date  notes  had  been 
made  payable  in  twelve,  eighteen,  and  twenty-four  months.  Further  investiga- 
tion revealed  the  frightful  fact  that  I  had  indorsed  for  the  clock  company  to  the 
extent  of  more  than  half  a  million  dollars,  and  most  of  the  notes  had  been 
exchanged  for  old  Jerome  Company  notes  due  to  the  banks  and  other  creditors. 
My  agent  who  made  these  startling  discoveries  came  back  to  me  with  the  refresh- 
ing intelligence  that  I  was  a  ruined  man! 

Not  quite;  I  had  the  mountain  of  Jerome  debts  on  my  back,  but  I  found  means 
to  pay  every  claim  against  me  at  my  bank,  all  my  store  and  shop  debts,  notes  to 
the  amount  of  $40,000,  which  banks  in  my  neighborhood,  relying  upon  my  per- 
sonal integrity,  had  discounted  for  the  clock  company,  and  then  I — failed ! 

What  a  dupe  had  I  been!  Here  was  a  great  company  pretending  to  be  worth 
$587,000,  asking  temporary  assistance  to  the  amount  of  $110,000,  coming  down 
with  a  crash,  so  soon  as  my  helping  hand  was  removed,  and  sweeping  me  down 
with  it.  It  failed;  and,  even  after  absorbing  my  fortune,  it  paid  but  from  twelve 
to  fifteen  per  cent,  of  its  obligations,  while,  to  cap  the  climax,  it  never  removed 
to  East  Bridgeport  at  all,  notwithstanding  this  was  the  only  condition  which  ever 
prompted  me  to  advance  one  dollar  to  the  rotten  concern  I 

If  at  any  time  my  vanity  had  been  chilled  by  the  fear  that  after  my  retirement 
from  the  Jenny  Lind  enterprise  the  world  would  forget  me,  this  affair  speedily 
re-assured  me;  I  had  notice  enough  to  satisfy  the  most  inordinate  craving  for 
notoriety.  All  over  the  country,  and  even  across  the  ocean,  "  Barnum  and  the 
Jerome  Clock  Bubble,"  was  the  great  newspaper  theme.  I  was  taken  to  pieces, 
analyzed,  put  together  again,  kicked,  "pitched  into,"  tumbled  about,  preached 
to,  preached  about,  and  made  to  serve  every  purpose  to  which  a  sensation-loving 
world  could  put  me.  Well!  I  was  now  in  training,  in  a  new  school,  and  was 
learning  new  and  strange  lessons. 

Yet  these  new  lessons  conveyed  the  old,  old  story.  There  were  those  who  had 
fawned  upon  me  in  my  prosperity,  who  now  jeered  at  my  adversity;  people 
whom  I  had  specially  favored,  made  special  efforts  to  show  their  ingratitude; 
papers,  which,  when  I  had  the  means  to  make  it  an  object  for  them  to  be  on  good 
terms  with  me,  overloaded  me  with  adulation,  now  attempted  to  overwhelm  me 
with  abuse:  and  then  the  immense  amount  of  moralizing  over  the  "  instability  of 


THE  JEROME  CLOCK   COMPANY   ENTANGLEMENT.  14? 

human  fortunes,"  and  especially  the  retributive  justice  that  is  sure  to  follow  "  ill- 
gotten  gains,"  which  my  censors  assumed  to  be  the  sum  and  substance  of  my 
honorably  acquired  and  industriously  worked  for  property.  I  have  no  doubt 
that  much  of  this  kind  of  twaddle  was  believed  by  the  twaddlers  to  be  sincere; 
and  thus  my  case  was  actual  capital  to  certain  preachers  and  religious  editors 
who  were  in  want  of  fresh  illustrations  wherewith  to  point  their  morals. 

I  was  in  the  depths,  but  did  not  despond.  I  was  confident  that  with  energetic 
purpose  and  divine  assistance,  I  should,  if  my  health  and  life  were  spared,  get 
on  my  feet  again;  and  events  have  since  fully  justified  and  verified  the  expecta- 
tion and  the  effort. 


OHAPTEK   XXVI. 

CLOUDS  AND  SUNSHINE. 

HAPPILY,  there  is  always  more  wheat  than  there  is  chaff.  While  my  enemies 
and  a  few  envious  persons  and  misguided  moralists  were  abusing  and  traducing 
me,  my  very  misfortunes  revealed  to  me  hosts  of  hitherto  unknown  friends  who 
tendered  to  me  something  more  than  mere  sympathy.  Funds  were  offered  to  me 
in  unbounded  quantity  for  the  support  of  my  family  and  to  re-establish  me  in 
business.  I  declined  these  tenders  because,  on  principle,  I  never  accepted  a  money 
favor,  unless  I  except  the  single  receipt  of  a  small  sum  which  came  to  me  by  mail 
at  this  time,  and  anonymously  so  that  I  could  not  return  it.  Even  this  small  sum 
I  at  once  devoted  to  charity  towards  one  who  needed  the  money  far  more  than  I 
did. 

The  generosity  of  my  friends  urged  me  to  accept  "benefits"  by  the  score,  the 
returns  of  which  would  have  made  me  quite  independent.  There  was  a  propo- 
sition among  leading  citizens  in  New  York  to  give  a  series  of  benefits  which  I  felt 
obliged  to  decline,  though  the  movement  in  my  favor  deeply  touched  me.  To 
show  the  class  of  men  who  sympathized  with  me  in  my  misfortunes,  and  also  the 
ground  which  I  took  in  the  matter,  I  venture  to  copy  the  following  correspondence 
which  appeared  in  the  New  York  papers  of  the  day: 

NEW  YORK,  June  2,  1856. 
MB.  P.  T.  BARNUM  : 

Dear  Sir  :  The  financial  ruin  of  a  man  of  acknowledged  energy  and  enterprise  is  a  public 
calamity.  The  sudden  blow,  therefore,  that  has  swept  away,  from  a  man  like  yourself,  the 
accumulated  wealth  of  years,  justifies,  we  think,  the  public  sympathy.  The  better  to  mani- 
fest our  sincere  respect  for  your  liberal  example  in  prosperity,  as  well  as  exhibit  our  honest 
admiration  of  your  fortitude  under  overwhelming  reverses,  we  propose  to  give  that  sym- 
pathy a  tangible  expression  by  soliciting  your  acceptance  of  a  series  of  benefits  for  your 
family,  the  result  of  which  may  possibly  secure  for  your  wife  and  children  a  future  home,  or 
at  least  rescue  them  from  the  more  immediate  consequences  of  your  misfortune. 

Freeman  Hunt,  E.  K.  Collins,  Isaac  V.  Fowler,  James  Phalen,  Cornelius  Vanderbilt,  F. 
B.  Cutting,  James  W.  Gerard,  Simeon  Draper,  Thomas  McElrath,  Park  Godwin,  R.  F. 
Carman,  Gen.  C.  W.  Sanford,  Philo  Kurd,  President  H.  R.  R.;  Win.  Ellsworth,  President 
Brooklyn  Ins.  Co.;  George  8.  Doughty,  President  Excelsior  Ins.  Co.;  Chas.  T.  Cromwell, 
Robert  Stnyvesant,  E.  L.  Livingston,  R.  Busteed,  Wm.  P.  Fettridge.  E.  N.  Haughwout, 
Geo.  F.  Nesbitt,  Osborne,  Boardman  &  Townsend,  Charles  H.  Delavan,  I.  &  C.  Berrien, 
Fisher  &  Bird,  Solomon  &  Hart,  B.  Young,  M.  D.,  Treadwell,  Acker  &  Co.,  St.  Nicholas 
Hotel,  John  Wheeler,  Union  Square  Hotel,  S.  Leland  &  Co.,  Metropolitan  Hotel,  Albert 
Clark,  Brevoort  House,  H.  D.  Clapp,  Everett  House.  John  Taylor,  International  Hotel. 
Sydney  Hopman,  Smithsonian  Hotel,  Messrs.  Delmonico,  Delmonico's,  Geo.  W.  Sherman, 
Florence's  Hotel,  Kingsley  &  Ainslee,  Howard  Hotel,  Libby  <fe  Whitney,  Lovejoy's  Hoti-1, 
Howard  &  Buown,  Tammany  Hall,  Jonas  Bartlett,  Washington  Hotel,  Patten  &  Lynde, 
Pacific  Hotel,  J.  Johnson,  Johnson's  Hotel,  and  over  1,000  others. 

To  this  gratifying  communication  I  replied  as  follows: 

LONG  ISLAND,  Tuesday,  June  3, 1856. 

GENTLEMEN  :  I  can  hardly  find  words  to  express  my  gratitude  for  your  very  kind  propo- 
sition. The  popular  sympathy  is  to  me  far  more  precious  than  gold,  and  that  sympathy 
seems  In  my  case  to  extend  from  my  immediate  neighbors,  in  Bridgeport,  to  all  parts  of  our 
Union. 

Proffers  of  pecuniary  assistance  have  reached  me  from  every  quarter,  not  only  from 
friends,  but  from  entire  strangers.  Mr.  Wm.  E.  Burton,  Miss  Laura  Keene  and  Mr.  Wm. 
Niblo  have  in  the  kindest  manner  tendered  me  the  receipts  of  their  theaters  fur  one  evening. 

148 


CLOUDS  AND  SUNSHINE.  149 

Mr.  Gough  volunteered  the  proceeds  of  one  of  his  attractive  lectures  ;  Mr.  James  Phalon 
generously  offered  me  the  free  use  of  the  Academy  of  Music;  many  professional  ladies  and 
gentlemen  have  urged  me  to  accept  their  gratuitous  services.  I  have,  on  principle,  respect- 
fully declined  them  all,  as  I  beg,  with  the  most  grateful  acknowledgments  (at  least  for  the 
present),  to  decline  yours— not  because  a  benefit,  in  itself,  is  an  objectionable  thing,  but 
because  I  have  ever  made  it  a  point  to  ask  nothing  of  the  public  on  personal  grounds,  and 
should  prefer,  while  I  can  possibly  avoid  that  contingency,  to  accept  nothing  from  it  without 
the  honest  conviction  that  I  had  individually  given  it  in  return  a  full  equivalent. 

While  favored  with  health,  I  feel  competent  to  earn  an  honest  livelihood  for  myself  and 
family.  More  than  this  I  shall  certainly  never  attempt  with  such  a  load  of  debt  suspended 
in  terrorem  over  me.  While  I  earnestly  thank  you,  therefore,  for  your  generous  considera- 
tion, gentlemen  I  trust  you  will  appreciate  my  desire  to  live  unhumilitated  by  a  sense  of 
dependence,  and  believe  me,  sincerely  yours, 

P.  T.  BARNUM. 

To  Messrs.  FKEEMAN  HUNT,  £.  K.  COLLINS,  and  others. 

And  with  other  offers  of  assistance  from  far  and  near,  came  the  following  from 
a  little  gentleman  who  did  not  forget  his  old  friend  and  benefactor  in  the  time  of 

trial: 

JONES'  HOTEL,  PHILADELPHIA,  May  12, 1856. 

MY  DEAR  MB.  BARNUM:  I  understand  your  friends,  and  that  means  "all  creation," 
intend  to  get  up  some  benefits  for  your  family.  Now,  my  dear  sir,  just  be  good  enough  to 
remember  that  I  belong  to  that  mighty  crowd,  and  I  must  have  a  finger  (or  at  least  a 
"thumb")  in  that  pie.  I  am  bound  to  appear  on  all  such  occasions  in  some  shape,  from 
"Jack  the  Giant  Killer,"  up  stairs,  to  the  door-keeper  down,  whichever  may  serve  you  best; 
and  there  are  some  feats  that  I  can  perform  as  well  as  any  other  man  of  my  inches.  I  have 
just  started  out  on  my  western  tour,  and  have  my  carriage,  ponies  and  assistants  all  here, 
but  I  am  ready  to  go  on  to  New  York,  bag  and  baggage,  and  remain  at  Mrs.  Barnum's 
service  as  long  as  I,  in  my  small  way,  can  be  useful.  Put  me  into  any  "  heavy  "  work,  if 
you  like.  Perhaps  I  cannot  lift  as  much  as  some  other  folks,  but  just  take  your  pencil  in 
hand  and  you  will  sue  I  can  draw  a  tremendous  load.  I  drew  two  hundred  tons  at  a  single 
pull  to-day,  embracing  two  thousand  persons,  whom  I  hauled  up  safely  and  satisfactorily  to 
all  parties,  at  one  exhibition.  Hoping  that  you  will  be  able  to  fix  up  a  lot  of  magnets  that 
will  attract  all  New  York,  and  volunteering  to  sit  on  any  part  of  the  loadstone,  I  am,  as 
ever,  your  little  but  sympathizing  friend, 

GEN.  TOM  THUMB 

Even  this  generous  offer  from  my  little  friend  I  felt  compelled  to  refuse.  But 
kind  words  were  written  and  spoken  which  I  could  not  prevent,  nor  did  I  desire 
to  do  so,  and  which  were  worth  more  to  me  than  money.  I  should  fail  to  find 
space,  if  I  wished  it,  to  copy  one-tenth  part  of  the  cordial  and  kind  articles  and 
paragraphs  that  appeared  about  me  in  newspapers  throughout  the  country.  The 
following  sentence  from  an  editorial  article  in  a  prominent  New  York  journal 
was  the  key-note  to  many  similar  kind  notices  in  all  parts  of  the  Union:  "  It  is  a 
fact  beyond  dispute  that  Mr.  Barnum's  financial  difficulties  have  accumulated 
from  the  goodness  of  his  nature;  kind-hearted  and  generous  to  a  fault,  it  has 
ever  been  his  custom  to  lend  a  helping  hand  to  the  struggling;  and  honest  industry 
and  enterprise  have  found  his  friendship  prompt  and  faithful."  The  Boston  Jour- 
nal dwelt  especially  upon  the  use  I  had  made  of  my  money  in  my  days  of  pros 
perity  in  assisting  deserving  laboring  men  and  in  giving  an  impulse  to  business 
in  the  town  where  I  resided.  It  seems  only  just  that  I  should  make  this  very 
brief  allusion  to  these  things,  if  only  as  an  offset  to  the  unbounded  abuse  of  those 
who  believed  in  kicking  me  merely  because  I  was  down;  nor  can  I  refrain  from 
copying  the  following  from  the  Boston  Saturday  Evening  Gazette,  of  May  3, 
1856: 

BARNUM   REDIVIVUS. 

A  WORD  FOR  BARNUM. 

BARNUM,  your  hand!  Though  you  are  "  down," 

And  see  full  many  a  frigid  shoulder, 
Be  brave,  my  brick,  and  though  they  frown, 

Prove  that  misfortune  makes  you  bolder. 
There's  many  a  man  that  sneers,  my  hero, 

And  former  praise  converts  to  scorning, 
Would  worship — when  he  fears — a  Nero, 

And  bend  "where  thrift  may  follow  fawning  " 


150  CLOUDS    AND   SUNSHINE. 

You  humbugged  us— that  we  have  seen, 

We  got  our  money's  worth,  old  fellow, 
And  though  you  thought  our  minds  were  yreen, 

We  never  thought  your  heart  was  yellow. 
We  knew  you  liberal,  generous,  warm, 

Quick  to  assist  a  falling  brother, 
And.  with  such  virtues,  what's  the  harm 

All  memories  of  your  faults  to  smother? 

We  had  not  heard  the  peerless  Lind, 

But  for  your  spirit  enterprising, 
You  were  the  man  to  raise  the  wind, 

And  make  a  coup  confessed  sarprising. 
You're  reckoned  in  your  native  town 

A  friend  in  need,  a  friend  in  danger, 
You  ever  keep  the  latchstring  down, 

And  greet  with  open  hand  the  stranger. 

Stiffen  your  upper  lip.    You  know 
Who  are  your  friends  and  who  your  foes  now; 

We  pay  for  knowledge  as  we  go  ; 
And  though  you  get  some  sturdy  blows  now, 

You've  a  fair  field — no  favors  crave — 
The  storm  ouce  passed  will  find  you  braver — 

In  virtue's  cause  long  may  you  wave, 
And  on  the  right  side,  never  waver. 

Desirous  of  knowing  who  was  the  author  of  this  kindly  effusion,  I  wrote, 
while  preparing  this  autobiography,  to  Mr.  B.  P.  Shillaber,  one  of  the  editors  of 
the  journal,  and  well  known  to  the  public  as  "Mrs.  Partington."  In  reply,  I 
received  the  following  letter  in  which  it  will  be  seen  that  he  makes  sympathetic 
allusion  to  the  burning  of  my  last  Museum,  only  a  few  weeks  before  the  date  of 
his  letter: 

CHETLSBA,  April  25, 1868. 

MY  DK AR  MB.  BARNTTM  :  The  poem  in  question  was  written  by  A.  Wallace  Thaxter, 
associate  editor  with  Mr.  Clapp  and  myself,  on  the  Gazette — since  deceased,  a  glorious 
fellow — who  wrote  the  poem  from  a  sincere  feeling  of  admiration  for  yourself.  Mr.  Clapp, 
(Hon.  W.  W.  Clapp,)  published  it  with  his  full  approbati<  >n.  I  heard  of  your  new  trouble,  iu 
my  sick  chamber,  where  I  have  been  all  winter,  with  regret,  and  wish  you  as  ready  a  release 
from  attending  difficulty  as  your  genius  has  hitherto  achieved  under  like  circumstances. 

Yours,  very  truly, 

B.  P.  SHILI^ABBR. 

But  the  manifestations  of  sympathy  which  came  to  me  from  Bridgeport,  where 
my  home  had  been  for  more  than  ten  years,  were  the  most  gratifying  of  all, 
because  they  showed  unmistakably  that  my  best  friends,  those  who  were  most 
constant  in  their  friendship  and  most  emphatic  in  their  esteem,  were  my  neighbors 
and  associates  who,  of  all  people,  knew  me  best.  With  such  support  I  could 
easily  endure  the  attacks  of  traducers  elsewhere.  The  New  York  Times,  April 
25,  1856,  under  the  head  of  "Sympathy  for  Barnum,"  published  a  full  report  of 
the  meeting  of  my  fellow-citizens  of  Bridgeport,  the  previous  evening,  to  take 
my  case  into  consideration. 

In  response  to  a  call  headed  by  the  mayor  of  the  city,  and  signed  by  several 
hundred  citizens,  this  meeting  was  held  in  Washington  Hall  "  for  the  purpose  of 
sympathizing  with  P.  T.  Barnum,  Esq.,  in  his  recent  pecuniary  embarrassments, 
and  of  giving  some  public  expression  to  their  views  in  reference  to  his  financial 
misfortunes."  It  was  the  largest  public  meeting  which,  up  to  that  time,  had  ever 
been  held  in  Bridgeport.  Several  prominent  citizens  made  addresses,  and  reso- 
lutions were  adopted,  declaring  "that  respect  and  sympathy  were  due  to  P.  T. 
Barnum  in  return  for  his  many  acts  of  liberality,  philanthropy  and  public  spirit," 
expressing  unshaken  confidence  in  his  integrity,  admiration  for  the  "fortitude 
and  composure  with  which  he  has  met  reverses  into  which  he  has  been  dragged 


CLOUDS   AND   SUNSHINE.  151 

through  no  fault  of  his  own  except  a  too  generous  confidence  in  pretended  friends, " 
and  hoping  that  he  would  "yet  return  to  that  wealth  which  he  has  so  nobly 
employed,  and  to  the  community  he  has  so  signally  benefited. "  During  the  evening 
the  following  letter  was  read: 

NEW  YORK,  Thursday,  April  24,  1856. 
WM.  H.  NOBLE,  Esq., 

Dear  Sir:  I  have  just  received  a  Blip  containing  a  call  for  a  public  meeting  of  the  citizens 
of  Bridgeport  to  sympathize  with  me  in  my  troubles.  It  is  headed  by  His  Honorthe  Mayor 
and  is  signed  by  most  of  your  prominent  citizens,  as  well  as  by  many  men  who  by  hard 
labor  earn  their  daily  bread,  and  who  appreciate  a  calamity  which  at  a  single  blow  strips  a 
man  of  his  fortune,  his  dear  home,  and  all  the  worldly  comforts  which  years  of  diligent 
labor  had  acquired.  It  is  due  to  truth  to  say  that  I  knew  nothing  of  this  movement  until 
your  letter  informed  me  of  it. 

In  misfortune  the  true  sympathy  of  neighbors  is  more  consoling  and  precious  than  any- 
thing which  money  can  purchase.  This  voluntary  offering  of  my  fellow-citizens,  though  it 
thrills  me  with  painful  emotions  and  causes  tears  of  gratitude,  yet  imparts  to  me  renewed 
strength,  and  fills  my  heart  with  thankfulness  to  Providence  for  raising  up  to  my  sight, 
above  all  this  wreck,  kind  hearts  which  soar  above  the  sordid  atmosphere  of  "  dirty  dollars.'' 
I  can  never  forget  this  unexpected  kindness  from  my  old  friends  and  neighbors. 

I  trust  I  am  not  blind  to  my  many  laults  and  shortcomings.  I,  however,  do  feel  great 
consolation  in  believing  that  I  never  used  money  or  position  to  oppress  the  poor  or  wrong 
my  fellow-men,  and  that  I  never  turned  empty  away  those  whom  I  had  the  power  to  assist. 

My  poor  sick  wife,  who  needs  the  bracing  air  which  our  own  dear  home  (made  beauti- 
ful by  her  willing  hands)  would  now  have  afforded  her,  is  driven  by  the  orders  of  her 
physician  to  a  seclnded  spot  on  Long  Island  where  the  sea-wind  lends  its  healthful  influence, 
and  where  I  have  also  retired  for  the  double  purpose  of  consoling  her  and  of  recruiting  my 
own  constitution,  which,  through  the  excitements  of  the  last  few  months,  has  most  seriously 
failed  me. 

In  our  quiet  and  humble  retreat,  that  which  I  most  sincerely  pray  for  is  tranquillity  and 
contentment.  I  am  sure  that  the  remembrance  of  the  kindness  of  my  Bridgeport  neighbors 
will  aid  me  in  securing  these  cherished  blessings.  No  man  who  has  not  passed  through 
similar  scenes  can  fully  comprehend  the  misery  which  has  been  crowded  into  the  last  few 
months  of  my  life ;  but  I  have  endeavored  to  preserve  my  integrity,  and  I  humbly  hope  and 
believe  that  I  am  being  taught  humility  and  reliance  upon  Providence,  which  will  yet  afford 
a  thousand  times  more  peace  and  true  happiness  than  can  be  acquired  in  the  din,  strife  and 
turmoil,  excitements  and  struggles  of  this  money-worshipping  age.  The  man  who  coins  his 
brains  and  blood  into  gold,  who  wastes  all  of  his  time  and  thought  upon  the  almighty 
dollar,  who  looks  no  higher  than  blocks  of  houses,  and  tracts  of  land,  and  whose  iron 
chest  is  crammed  with  stocks  and  mortgages  tied  up  with  his  own  heart-strings,  may  con- 
sole himself  with  the  idea  of  safe  investments,  but  he  misses  a  pleasure  which  I  firmly 
believe  this  lesson  was  intended  to  secure  to  me,  and  which  it  will  secure  if  I  can  fully  brin; 
my  mind  to  realize  its  wisdom.  I  think  I  hear  you  say — 

"  When  the  devil  was  sick, 
The  devil  a  sain^  would  be, 
But  when  the  devil  got  well. 
The  devil  a  saint  was  he." 

Granted,  but,  after  all,  the  man  who  looks  npon  the  loss  of  money  as  anything  compared 
to  the  loss  of  honor,  or  health,  or  self-respect,  or  friends — a  man  who  can  find  no  source  of 
happiness  except  in  riches — is  to  be  pitied  for  his  blindness.  I  certainly  feel  that  the  loss 
of  money,  of  home  and  my  home  comforts,  is  dreadful— that  to  be  driven  again  to  find  a 
resting-place  away  from  those  I  love,  and  from  where  I  had  fondly  supposed  I  was  to  end 
my  days,  and  where  I  had  lavished  time,  money,  everything,  to  make  my  descent  to  the 
grave  placid  and  pleasant— is,  indeed,  a  severe  lesson  ;  but,  after  all,  I  firmly  believe  it  is 
for  the  best,  and  though  my  heart  may  break,  I  will  not  repine. 

I  regret,  beyond  expression,  that  any  man  should  be  a  loser  for  having  trusted  to  my 
name  ;  it  would  not  have  been  so,  if  I  had  not  myself  been  deceived.  As  it  is,  I  am  grati- 
fied in  knowing  that  all  my  individual  obligations  will  be  met.  It  would  have  been  much 
better  if  clock  creditors  had  accepted  the  best  offer  that  it  was  in  my  power  to  make  them; 
but  it  was  not  so  to  be.  It  is  now  too  late,  and,  as  I  willingly  give  up  all  I  possess,  I  can  do 
no  more. 

Wherever  my  future  lot  may  be  cast,  I  shall  ever  fondly  cherish  the  kindness  which  I  have 
always  received  from  the  citizens  of  Bridgeport. 

I  am,  my  dear  sir,  truly  yours, 

P.  T.  BARNUM. 

Shortly  after  this  sympathetic  meeting,  a  number  of  gentlemen  in  Bridgeport 
offered  me  a  loan  of  $50,000  if  that  sum  would  be  instrumental  in  extricating  me 
from  my  entanglement.  I  could  not  say  that  this  amount  would  meet  the 
exigency;  I  could  only  say,  "wait,  wait,  and  hope." 


152  CLOUDS  AND   SUNSHINE. 

Meanwhile,  my  eyes  were  fully  open  to  the  entire  magnitude  of  tne  deception 
that  had  been  practiced  upon  my  too  confiding  nature.  I  not  only  discovered 
that  my  notes  had  been  used  to  five  times  the  amount  I  stipulated  or  expected, 
but  that  they  had  been  applied,  not  to  relieving  the  company  from  temporary 
embarrassment  after  my  connection  with  it,  but  almost  wholly  to  the  redemption 
of  old  and  rotten  claims  of  years  and  months  gone  by.  To  show  the  extent  to 
which  the  fresh  victim  was  deliberately  bled,  it  may  be  stated  that  I  was  induced 
to  become  surety  to  one  of  the  New  Haven  banks  in  the  sum  of  $30,000  to  idem- 
nify  the  bank  against  future  losses  it  might  incur  from  the  Jerome  Company  after 
my  connection  with  it,  and  by  some  legerdemain  this  bond  was  made  to  cover 
past  obligations  which  were  older  even  than  my  knowledge  of  the  existence  of 
the  company.  In  every  way  it  seemed  as  if  I  had  been  cruelly  swindled  and 
deliberately  defrauded. 

As  the  clock  company  had  gone  to  pieces  and  was  paying  but  from  twelve  to 
fifteen  per  cent,  for  its  paper,  I  sent  two  of  my  friends  to  New  Haven  to  ask  for 
a  meeting  of  the  creditors,  and  I  instructed  them  to  say  in  substance  for  me  as 
follows: 

"  Gentlemen:  This  is  a  capital,  practical  joke!  Before  I  negotiated  with  your 
clock  company  at  all,  I  was  assured  by  several  of  you,  and  particularly  by  a 
representative  of  the  bank  which  was  the  largest  creditor  of  the  concern,  that 
the  Jerome  Company  was  eminently  responsible,  and  that  the  head  of  the  same 
was  uncommonly  pious.  On  the  strength  of  such  representations  solely,  I  was 
induced  to  agree  to  indorse  and  accept  paper  for  that  company  to  the  extent  of 
$110,000 — no  more.  That  sum  I  am  now  willing  to  pay  for  my  own  verdancy, 
with  an  additional  sum  of  $40,000  for  your  'cuteness,  making  a  total  of  $150,000, 
which  you  can  have  if  you  cry  'quits'  with  the  fleeced  showman  and  let  him 
off." 

Many  of  the  old  creditors  favored  this  proposition;  but  it  was  found  that  the 
indebtedness  was  so  scattered  it  would  be  impracticable  to  attempt  a  settlement 
by  an  unanimous  compromise  of  the  creditors.  It  was  necessary  to  liquidation 
that  my  property  should  go  into  the  hands  of  assignees;  I  therefore  at  once 
turned  over  my  Bridgeport  property  to  Connecticut  assignees,  and  I  removed 
my  family  to  New  York,  where  I  also  made  an  assignment  of  all  my  real  and 
personal  estate,  excepting  what  had  already  been  transferred  in  Connecticut. 

A-bout  this  time  I  received  a  letter  from  Philadelphia  proffering  $500  in  case 
my  circumstances  were  such  that  I  really  stood  in  need  of  help.  The  very 
wording  of  the  letter  awakened  the  suspicion  in  my  mind,  that  it  was  a  trick 
to  ascertain  whether  I  really  had  any  property,  for  I  knew  that  banks  and 
brokers  in  that  city  held  some  of  my  Jerome  paper  which  they  refused  to  com- 
pound or  compromise.  So  I  at  once  wrote  that  I  did  need  $500,  and,  as  I  expected, 
the  money  did  not  come,  nor  was  my  letter  answered ;  but,  as  a  natural  conse- 
quence, the  Philadelphia  bankers  who  were  holding  the  Jerome  paper  for  a  higher 
percentage,  at  once  acceded  to  the  terms  which  I  had  announced  myself  able  and 
willing  to  pay. 

Every  dollar  which  I  honestly  owed  on  my  own  account,  I  had  already  paid 
in  full  or  had  satisfactorily  arranged.  For  the  liabilities  incurred  by  the  delib- 
erate deception  which  had  involved  me,  I  offered  such  a  percentage  as  I  thought 
my  estate,  when  sold,  would  eventually  pay;  and  my  wife,  from  her  own 
property,  advanced  from  time  to  time  money  to  take  up  such  notes  as  could  be 
secured  upon  these  terms.  It  was.  however,  a  slow  process. 


CLOUDS  AND  SUNSHINE.  153 

We  were  now  living  in  a  very  frugal  manner  in  a  hired  furnished  house  in 
Eighth  street,  near  Sixth  avenue,  in  New  York,  and  our  landlady  and  her  family 
boarded  with  us.  At  the  age  of  forty-six,  after  the  acquisition  and  the  loss  of  a 
handsome  fortune,  I  was  once  more  nearly  at  the  bottom  of  the  ladder,  and  was 
about  to  begin  the  world  again.  The  situation  was  disheartening,  but  I  had 
energy,  experience,  health  and  liope. 


CHAPTER   XXVTl. 

BEST,    BUT  KOT   RUST. 

IN  the  summer  of  1855,  previous  to  my  financial  troubles,  feeling  that  I  was 
independent  and  could  retire  from  active  business,  I  sold  the  American  Museum 
collection  and  good-will  to  Messrs.  John  Greenwood,  Junior,  and  Henry  D.  But- 
ler. They  paid  me  double  the  amount  the  collection  had  originally  cost,  giving  me 
notes  for  nearly  the  entire  amount,  secured  by  a  chattel  mortgage,  and  hired  the 
premises  from  my  wife,  who  owned  the  Museum  property  lease,  and  on  which, 
by  the  agreement  of  Messrs.  Greenwood  and  Butler,  she  realized  a  profit  of 
$19,000  a  year.  The  chattel  mortgage  of  Messrs.  Greenwood  and  Butler,  was,  of 
course,  turned  over  to  the  New  York  assignee  with  the  other  property. 

And  now  there  came  to  me  a  new  sensation,  which  was,  at  times,  terribly 
depressing  and  annoying.  My  wide-spread  reputation  for  shrewdness  as  a  show- 
man, had  induced  the  general  belief  that  my  means  were  still  ample,  and  certain 
outside  creditors  who  had  bought  my  clock  notes  at  a  tremendous  discount,  and 
entirely  on  speculation,  made  up  their  minds  that  they  must  be  paid  at  once 
without  waiting  for  the  slow  process  of  the  sale  of  my  property  by  the  assignees. 

They  therefore  took  what  are  termed  "supplementary  proceedings,"  which 
enabled  them  to  haul  me  any  day  before  a  judge,  for  the  purpose,  as  they 
phrased  it,  of  "  putting  Barnum  through  a  course  of  sprouts,"  and  which  meant 
an  examination  of  the  debtor  under  oath,  compelling  him  to  disclose  everything 
with  regard  to  his  property,  his  present  means  of  living,  and  so  on. 

I  repeatedly  answered  all  questions  on  these  points;  and  reports  of  the  daily 
examinations  were  published.  Still  another  and  another,  and  yet  another  cred- 
itor would  haul  me  up;  and  his  attorney  would  ask  me  the  same  questions  which 
had  already  been  answered  and  published  half  a  dozen  times.  This  persistent 
and  unnecessary  annoyance,  created  considerable  sympathy  for  me,  which  was 
not  only  expressed  by  letters  I  received  daily  from  various  parts  of  the  country, 
but  the  public  press,  with  now  and  then  an  exception,  took  my  part,  and  even  the 
judges,  before  whom  I  appeared,  said  to  me  on  more  than  one  occasion,  that  as 
men  they  sincerely  pitied  me,  but  as  judges,  of  course  they  must  administer  the 
law.  After  a  while,  however,  the  judges  ruled  that  I  need  not  answer  any 
questions  propounded  to  me  by  an  attorney,  if  I  had  already  answered  the  same 
question  to  some  other  attorney  in  a  previous  examination  in  behalf  of  other 
creditors.  In  fact,  one  of  the  judges,  on  one  occasion,  said  pretty  sharply  to  an 
examining  attorney; 

"This,  sir,  has  become  simply  a  case  of  persecution.  Mr.  Barnum  has  many 
times  answered  every  question  that  can  properly  be  put  to  him,  to  elicit  the 
desired  information;  and  I  think  it  is  time  to  stop  these  examinations.  I  advise 
him  to  not  answer  one  interrogatory  which  he  has  replied  to  under  any  previous 
inquiries." 

These  things  gave  me  some  heart,  so  that  at  last,  I  went  up  to  the  "sprouts" 
with  less  reluctance,  and  began  to  try  to  pay  off  my  persecutors  in  their  own 
coin. 

154 


BEST,  BUT  NOT  BUST.  155 

On  one  occasion,  a  dwarfish  little  lawyer,  who  reminded  me  of  "Quilp,"  com- 
menced his  examination  in  behalf  of  a  note-shaver,  who  held  a  thousand-dollar 
note,  which  it  seemed  he  had  bought  for  seven  hundred  dollars.  After  the  oath 
had  been  administered,  the  "  limb  of  the  law"  arranged  his  pen,  ink  and  paper, 
and  in  a  loud  voice,  and  with  a  most  peremptory  and  supercilious  air,  asked: 

"  What  is  you  name,  sir? " 

I  answered  him;  and  his  next  question,  given  in  a  louder  and  more  peremptory 
tone,  was: 

"  What  is  your  business? " 

"  Attending  bar,"  I  meekly  replied. 

"Attending  bar  I"  he  echoed,  with  an  appearance  of  much  surprise;  "attend- 
ing bar !  Why,  don't  you  profess  to  be  a  temperance  man— a  teetotaler? " 

"I  do,"  I  replied. 

"  And  yet,  sir,  do  you  have  the  audacity  to  assert  that  you  peddle  rum  all  day, 
and  drink  none  yourself? " 

"  I  doubt  whether  that  is  a  relevant  question,"  I  said  in  a  low  tone  of  voice. 

"I  will  appeal  to  his  honor,  the  judge,  if  you  don't  answer  it  instantly,"  said 
Quilp  in  great  glee. 

"I  attend  bar,  and  yet  never  drink  intoxicating  liquors,"  I  replied. 

"Where  do  you  attend  bar,  and  for  whom?"  was  the  next  question. 

"I  attend  the  bar  of  this  court,  nearly  every  day,  for  the  benefit  of  two-penny, 
would-be  lawyers  and  their  greedy  clients,"  I  answered. 

A  loud  tittering  in  the  vicinity  only  added  to  the  vexation  which  was  already 
visible  on  the  countenance  of  my  interrogator,  and  he  soon  brought  his  examina- 
tion to  a  close. 

On  another  occasion,  a  young  lawyer  was  pushing  his  inquiries  to  a  great  length, 
when,  in  a  half  laughing,  apologetic  tone,  he  said : 

"  You  see,  Mr.  Barnum,  I  am  searching  after  the  small  things;  I  am  willing  to 
take  even  the  crumbs  which  fall  from  the  rich  man's  table! " 

"  Which  are  you,  Lazarus,  or  one  of  his  dogs? "  I  asked.  ^ 

"  I  guess  a  blood-hound  would  not  smell  out  much  on  this  trail,"  he  said  good 
naturedly,  adding  that  he  had  no  more  questions  to  ask. 

Just  after  my  failure,  and  on  account  of  the  ill-health  of  my  wife,  I  spent  a 
portion  of  the  summer  with  my  family  in  the  farmhouse  of  Mr.  Charles  Howell, 
at  W  esthampton,  on  Long  Island.  The  place  is  a  mile  west  of  Quogue,  and 
was  then  called  "  Ketchebonneck."  The  thrifty  and  intelligent  farmers  of  the 
neighborhood  were  in  the  habit  of  taking  summer  boarders,  and  the  place 
had  become  a  favorite  resort.  Mr.  Howell's  farm  lay  close  upon  the  ocean, 
and  I  found  the  residence  a  cool  and  delightful  one.  Surf  bathing,  fishing, 
shooting  and  fine  roads  for  driving  made  the  season  pass  pleasantly,  and  the 
respite  from  active  life  and  immediate  annoyance  from  my  financial  troubles 
was  a  very  great  benefit  to  me. 

One  morning  we  discovered  that  the  waves  had  thrown  upon  the  beach  a  young 
black  whale  some  twelve  feet  long.  It  was  dead,  but  the  fish  was  hard  and  fresh 
and  I  bought  it  for  a  few  dollars  from  the  men  who  had  taken  possession  of  it.  I 
sent  it  at  once  to  the  Museum,  where  it  was  exhibited  in  a  huge  refrigerator  for  a 
few  days,  creating  considerable  excitement,  the  general  public  considering  it  "a 
big  thing  on  ice,"  and  the  managers  gave  me  a  share  of  the  profits,  which 
amounted  to  a  sufficient  sum  to  pay  the  entire  board  bill  of  my  family  for  the 
Reason. 


156  REST,   BUT   NOT   RUST. 

This  incident  both  amused  and  amazed  my  Long  Island  landlord.  "  Well,  1 
declare, "  said  he,  ' '  that  beats  all ;  you  are  the  luckiest  man  I  ever  heard  of.  Here 
you  come  and  board  for  four  months,  with  your  family,  and  when  your  time  is 
nearly  up,  and  you  are  getting  ready  to  leave,  out  rolls  a  black  whale  on  our 
beach,  a  thing  never  heard  of  before  in  this  vicinity,  and  you  take  that  whale 
and  pay  your  whole  bill  with  it." 

Soon  after  my  return  to  New  York,  something  occurred  which  I  foresaw  at  the 
time,  was  likely  indirectly  to  lead  me  out  of  the  wilderness  into  a  clear  field  again. 
Strange  to  say,  my  new  city,  which  had  been  my  ruin  was  to  be  my  redemption. 
The  now  gigantic  Wheeler  &  Wilson  Sewing  Machine  Company  was  then  doing 
a  comparatively  small,  yet  rapidly  growing  business  at  Watertown,  Connecticut. 
The  Terry  &  Barnum  clock  factory  was  standing  idle,  almost  worthless,  in  East 
Bridgeport,  and  Wheeler  &  Wilson  saw  in  the  empty  building,  the  situation,  the 
ease  of  communication  with  New  York,  and  other  advantages,  precisely  what  they 
wanted,  provided  they  could  procure  the  premises  at  a  rate  which  would  compen- 
sate them  for  the  expense  and  trouble  of  removing  their  establishment  from 
Watertown.  The  clock  factory  was  sold  for  a  trifle  and  the  Wheeler  &  Wilson 
Company  moved  into  it  and  speedily  enlarged  it.  It  was  afresh  impulse  towards 
the  building  up  of  a  new  city  and  the  consequent  increase  of  the  value  of  the 
land  belonging  to  my  estate. 

This  important  movement  of  the  Wheeler  &  Wilson  Company  gave  me  the 
greatest  hope,  and,  moreover,  Mr.  Wheeler  kindly  offered  me  a  loan  of  $5,000, 
without  security,  and,  as  I  was  anxious  to  have  it  used  in  purchasing  the  East 
Bridgeport  property,  when  sold  at  public  auction  by  my  assignees,  and  also  in  taking 
up  such  clock  notes  as  could  be  bought  at  a  reasonable  percentage,  I  accepted  the 
offer  and  borrowed  the  $5,000.  This  sum,  with  many  thousand  dollars  more 
belonging  to  my  wife,  was  devoted  to  these  purposes. 

Though  the  new  plan  promised  relief,  and  actually  did  succeed,  even  beyond 
my  most  sanguine  expectations,  eventually  putting  more  money  into  my  pocket 
than  the  Jerome  complication  had  taken  out — yet  I  also  foresaw  that  the  process 
would  necessarily  be  very  slow.  In  fact,  two  years  afterwards  I  had  made  very 
little  progress.  But  I  concluded  to  let  the  new  venture  work  out  itself  and  it 
would  go  on  as  well  without  my  personal  presence  and  attention,  perhaps  even 
better.  Growing  trees,  money  at  interest,  and  rapidly  rising  real  estate,  work 
for  their  owners  all  night  as  well  as  all  day,  Sundays  included,  and  when  the  pro- 
prietors are  asleep  or  away,  and  with  the  design  of  co-operating  in  the  new  accu- 
mulation and  of  saving  something  to  add  to  the  amount,  I  made  up  my  mind  to 
go  to  Europe  again.  I  was  anxious  for  a  change  of  scene  and  for  active  employ- 
ment, and  equally  desirous  of  getting  away  from  the  immediate  pressure  of 
troubles  which  no  effort  on  my  part  could  then  remove.  While  my  affaire  were 
working  out  themselves  in  their  own  way  and  in  the  speediest  manner  possible,  I 
might  be  doing  something  for  myself  and  for  my  family. 

Accordingly,  leaving  all  my  business  affairs  at  home  in  the  hands  of  my  friends, 
early  in  1857  I  set  sail  once  more  for  England,  taking  with  me  General  Tom 
Thumb,  and  also  little  Cordelia  Howard  and  her  parents.  This  young  girl  had 
attained  an  extended  reputation  for  her  artistic  personation  of  "Little  Eva,"  in 
the  play  of  "  Uncle  Tom,"  and  she  displayed  a  precocious  talent  in  her  rendering 
of  other  juvenile  characters.  With  these  attractions,  and  with  what  else  I  might 
be  able  to  do  myself,  I  determined  to  make  as  much  money  as  I  could,  intending 
to  remit  the  same  to  my  wife's  friends,  for  the  purpose  of  re-purchasing  a  portion 
of  my  estate,  when  it  was  offered  at  auction,  and  of  redeeming  such  of  the  clock 
notes  as  could  be  obtained  at  reasonable  rates. 


CHAPTEK    XXVIII. 

ABROAD    AGAIN. 

WHEN  I  reached  London,  I  found  Mr.  Albert  Smith,  who,  when  I  first  knew 
him,  was  a  dentist,  a  literary  hack,  a  contributor  to  Punch,  and  a  writer  for  the 
magazines,  now  transformed  to  a  first-class  showman  in  the  full  tide  of  success, 
in  my  own  old  exhibition  quarters  in  Egyptian  Hall,  Piccadilly.  He  was  exhib- 
iting a  panorama  of  bis  ascent  of  Mont  Blanc.  His  lecture  was  full  of  amusing 
and  interesting  incidents,  illustrative  of  his  remarkable  experiences  in  accom- 
plishing the  difficult  feat. 

Calling  upon  Albert  Smith,  I  found  him  the  same  kind,  cordial  friend  as  ever, 
and  .he  at  once  put  me  on  the  free  list  at  his  entertainment,  and  insisted  upon  my 
dining  frequently  with  him  at  his  favorite  club,  the  Garrick. 

The  first  time  I  witnessed  his  exhibition,  he  gave  me  a  sly  wink  from  the  stage 
at  the  moment  of  his  describing  a  scene  in  the  golden  chamber  of  St.  Ursula's 
church  in  Cologne,  where  the  old  sexton  was  narrating  the  story  of  the  ashes  and 
bones  of  the  eleven  thousand  innocent  virgins,  who,  according  to  tradition,  were 
sacrificed  on  a  certain  occasion.  One  of  the  characters  whom  he  pretended  to 
have  met  several  times  on  his  trip  to  Mont  Blanc,  was  a  Yankee,  whom  he 
named  "  Phineas  Cutecraft."  The  wink  came  at  the  time  he  introduced  Phineas 
in  the  Cologne  Church,  and  made  him  say  at  the  end  of  the  sexton's  story  about 
the  Virgins'  bones : 

"  Old  fellow,  what  will  you  take  for  that  hull  lot  of  bones?  I  want  them  for 
my  Museum  in  America! " 

When  the  question  had  been  interpreted  to  the  old  German,  he  exclaimed  in 
horror,  according  to  Albert  Smith: 

"  Mine  Gott !  it  is  impossible !    We  will  never  sell  the  Virgins'  bones ! " 

"Never  mind,"  replied  Phineas  Cutecraft,  "I'll  send  another  lot  of  bones  to 
my  Museum,  swear  mine  are  the  real  bones  of  the  Virgins  of  Cologne,  and  burst 
up  your  showl" 

This  always  excited  the  heartiest  laughter;  but  Mr.  Smith  knew  very  well  that 
I  would  at  once  recognize  it  as  a  pharaphrase  of  the  scene  wherein  he  had  figured 
with  me,  in  1844,  at  the  porter's  lodge  of  Warwick  Castle.  In  the  course  of  the 
entertainment,  I  found  he  had  woven  in  numerous  anecdotes  I  had  told  him  at 
that  tune,  and  many  incidents  of  our  excursion  were  also  travestied  and  made  to 
contribute  to  the  interest  of  his  description  of  the  ascent  of  Mont  Blanc. 

When  we  went  to  the  Garrick  club  that  day,  Albert  Smith  introduced  me  to 
several  of  his  acquaintances  as  his  "teacher  in  the  show  business."  As  we  were 
quietly  dining  together,  he  remarked  that  I  must  have  recognized  several  old 
acquaintances  hi  the  anecdotes  at  his  entertainment.  Upon  my  answering  that  I 
did,  "indeed,"  he  remarked,  "  you  are  too  old  a  showman  not  to  know  that  in 
order  to  be  popular,  we  must  snap  up  and  localize  all  the  good  things  which  we 
come  across."  By  thus  engrafting  his  various  experiences  upon  this  Mont  Blanc 
entertainment,  Albert  Smith  succeeded  in  serving  up  a  salmagundi  feast  wlu'ch 
was  relished  alike  by  royal  and  less  distinguished  palates. 

157 


158  ABROAD   AGAIN. 

When  the  late  William  M.  Thackeray  made  his  first  visit  to  the  United  States, 
I  think  in  1853,  he  called  on  me  at  the  Museum  with  a  letter  of  introduction  from 
our  mutual  friend,  Albert  Smith.  He  spent  an  hour  with  me,  mainly  for  the 
purpose  of  asking  advice  in  regard  to  the  management  of  the  course  of  lectures 
on  "The  English  Humorists  of  the  Eighteenth  Century,"  which  he  proposed  to 
deliver,  as  he  did  afterwards,  with  very  great  success,  in  the  principal  cities  of  the 
Union.  I  gave  him  the  best  advice  I  could  as  to  management,  and  the  cities  he 
ought  to  visit,  for  which  he  was  very  grateful  and  he  called  on  me  whenever  he 
was  in  New  York.  I  also  saw  him  repeatedly  when  he  came  to  America  the 
second  time  with  his  admirable  lectures  on  "  The  Four  Georges,"  which,  it  will  be 
remembered,  he  delivered  in  the  United  States  in  the  season  of  1855-56,  before  he 
read  them  to  audiences  in  Great  Britain.  My  relations  with  this  great  novelist,  I 
am  proud  to  say,  were  cordial  and  intimate  ;  and  now,  when  I  called  upon  him, 
in  1857,  at  his  own  house,  he  grasped  me  heartily  by  the  hand  and  said: 

"  Mr.  Barnum,  I  admire  you  more  than  ever.  I  have  read  the  accounts  in  the 
papers  of  the  examinations  you  underwent  in  the  New  York  courts;  and  the 
positive  pluck  you  exhibit  under  your  pecuniary  embarrassments  is  worthy  of  all 
praise.  You  would  never  have  received  credit  for  the  philosophy  you  manifest,  if 
these  financial  misfortunes  had  not  overtaken  you." 

1  thanked  him  for  his  compliment,  and  he  continued: 

"But  tell  me,  Barnum,  are  you  really  in  need  of  present  assistance?  for  if  you 
are  you  must  be  helped." 

"Not  in  the  least,"  I  replied,  laughing;  "I  need  more  money  in  order  to  get 
out  of  bankruptcy,  and  I  intend  to  earn  it;  but  so  far  as  daily  bread  is  concerned, 
I  am  quite  at  ease,  for  my  wife  is  worth  £30,000  or  £40,000." 

"Is  it  possible?"  he  exclaimed,  with  evident  delight;  "well,  now,  you  have 
lost  all  my  sympathy;  why,  that  is  more  than  I  ever  expect  to  be  worth;  I  shall 
be  sorry  for  you  no  more." 

During  my  stay  in  London,  I  met  Thackeray  several  times,  and  011  one  occasion 
I  dined  with  him.  He  repeatedly  expressed  his  obligations  to  me  for  the  advice 
and  assistance  I  had  given  him  on  the  occasion  of  his  first  lecturing  visit  to  the 
United  States. 

Otto  Goldschmidt,  the  husband  of  Jenny  Lind,  also  called  on  me  in  London. 
He  and  his  wife  were  then  living  in  Dresden,  and  he  said  the  first  thing  his  wife 
desired  him  to  ask  me  was,  whether  I  was  in  want.  I  assured  him  that  I  was  not, 
although  I  was  managing  to  live  in  an  economical  way,  and  my  family  would 
soon  come  over  to  reside  in  London.  He  then  advised  me  to  take  them  to  Dres- 
den, saying  that  living  was  very  cheap  there;  and,  he  added,  "my  wife  will 
gladly  look  up  a  proper  house  for  you  to  live  in."  I  thankfully  declined  his 
proffered  kindness,  as  Dresden  was  too  far  away  from  my  business. 

My  old  friends,  Julius  Benedict  and  Giovanni  Belletti,  called  on  me  and  we  had 
some  very  pleasant  dinners  together,  when  we  talked  over  incidents  of  their 
travels  in  America.  Among  the  gentlemen  whom  I  met  in  London,  some  of  them 
quite  frequently  at  dinners,  were  Mr.  George  Augustus  Sala,  Mr.  Edmund  Yates, 
Mr.  Horace  Mayhew,  Mr.  Alfred  Bunn,  Mr.  Lumley,  of  Her  Majesty's  Theater, 
Mr.  Buckstone,  of  the  Haymarket,  Mr.  Charles  Kean,  our  princely  countrymen 
Mr.  George  Peabody,  Mr.  J.  M.  Morris,  the  manager,  Mr.  Bates,  of  Baring, 
Brothers  &  Co.,  Mr.  Oxenford,  dramatic  critic  of  the  London  Times,  Dr.  Ballard, 
the  American  dentist,  and  many  other  eminent  persons. 

I  had  numerous  offers  from  professional  friends,  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic, 
who  supposed  me  to  be  in  need  of  employment.  Mr.  Barney  Williams,  who  had 


ABROAD  AGAIN.  159 

not  then  acted  in  England,  proposed,  in  the  kindest  manner,  to  make  me  his  agent 
for  a  tour  through  Great  Britain,  and  to  give  me  one-third  of  the  profits  which  he 
and  Mrs.  Williams  might  make  by  their  acting.  Mr.  S.  M.  Pettengill,  of  New  York^ 
the  newspaper  advertising  agent,  offered  me  the  fine  salary  of  $10,000  a  year  to 
transact  business  for  hi™  in  Great  Britain.  He  wrote  to  me :  "  When  you  failed  in 
consequence  of  the  Jerome  clock  notes,  I  felt  that  your  creditors  were  dealing 
hard  with  you;  that  they  should  have  let  you  up  and  give  you  a  chance,  and  they 
would  have  fared  better,  and  I  wish  I  was  a  creditor  so  as  to  show  what  I  would 
do."  These  offers,  both  from  Mr.  Williams  and  Mr.  Pettengill,  I  felt  obliged  to 
decline. 

Mr.  Lumley,  manager  of  Her  Majesty's  Theater,  used  to  send  me  an  order  for 
a  private  box  for  every  opera  night,  and  I  frequently  availed  myself  of  his 
courtesy. 

Meanwhile,  I  was  by  no  means  idle.  Cordelia  Howard  as  "Little  Eva,"  with 
her  mother  as  the  inimitable  "Topsy,"  were  highly  successful  in  London  and 
other  large  cities,  while  General  Tom  Thumb,  returning  after  so  long  an  absence, 
drew  crowded  houses  wherever  he  went.  These  were  strong  spokes  in  the  wheel 
that  was  moving  slowly  but  surely  in  the  effort  to  get  me  out  of  debt,  and,  if 
possible,  to  save  some  portion  of  my  real  estate.  Of  course,  it  was  not  generally 
known  that  I  had  any  interest  whatever  in  either  of  these  exhibitions;  if  it  had 
been,  possibly  some  of  the  clock  creditors  would  have  annoyed  me;  but  I  busied 
myself  in  these  and  in  other  ways,  working  industriously  and  making  much 
money,  which  I  constantly  remitted  to  my  trusty  agent  at  home. 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 

IN   GERMANY. 

AFTER  a  pleasant  and  successful  season  of  several  weeks  in  London  and  in  the 
provinces,  I  took  the  little  General  into  Germany,  going  from  London  to  Paris, 
and  from  thence  to  Strasbourg  and  Baden-Baden. 

I  dreaded  to  pass  the  custom-house  at  Kehl,  nearly  opposite  Strasbourg,  and 
the  first  town  on  the  German  border  at  that  point.  I  knew  that  I  had  no  bag- 
gage which  was  rightfully  subject  to  duty,  as  I  had  nothing  but  my  necessary 
clothing,  and  the  package  of  placards  and  lithographs,  illustrating  the  General's 
exhibitions.  As  the  official  was  examining  my  trunks,  I  assured  him  in  French, 
that  I  had  nothing  subject  to  duty;  but  he  made  no  reply  and  deliberately  hand- 
led every  article  in  my  luggage.  He  then  cut  the  strings  to  the  large  packages  of 
show-bills.  I  asked  him  in  French,  whether  he  understood  that  language.  He 
gave  a  grunt,  which  was  the  only  audible  sound  I  could  get  out  of  him,  and  then 
laid  my  show-bills  and  lithographs  on  his  scales  as  if  to  weigh  them.  I  was  much 
excited.  An  English  gentleman,  who  spoke  German,  kindly  offered  to  act  as  my 
interpreter. 

"  Please  to  tell  him,"  said  1,  "that  those  bills  and  lithographs  are  not  articles 
of  commerce;  that  they  are  simply  advertisements." 

My  English  friend  did  as  I  requested;  but  it  was  of  no  use;  the  custom-house 
officer  kept  piling  them  upon  his  scales.  I  grew  more  excited. 

"  Please  tell  him  I  give  them  away,"  I  said.  The  translation  of  my  assertion 
into  German  did  not  help  me;  a  double  grunt  from  the  functionary,  was  the  only 
response.  Tom  Thumb,  meanwhile,  jumped  about  like  a  little  monkey,  for  he 
was  fairly  delighted  at  my  worry  and  perplexity.  Finally,  I  said  to  my  new 
found  English  friend:  "Be  good  enough  to  tell  the  officer  to  keep  the  bills  if  he 
wants  them,  and  that  I  will  not  pay  duty  on  them,  any  how."  * 

He  was  duly  informed  of  my  determination,  but  he  was  immovable.  He 
lighted  his  huge  Dutch  pipe,  got  the  exact  weight,  and,  marking  it  down,  handed 
it  to  a  clerk,  who  copied  it  on  his  book,  and  solemnly  passed  it  over  to  another 
clerk,  who  copied  it  on  still  another  book;  a  third  clerk  then  took  it,  and  copied  it 
on  to  a  printed  bill,  the  size  of  a  half  letter  sheet,  which  was  duly  stamped  in  red 
ink  with  several  official  devices.  By  this  time,  I  was  in  a  profuse  perspiration ; 
and,  as  the  document  passed  from  clerk  to  clerk,  I  told  them  they  need  not  trouble 
themselves  to  make  out  a  bill,  for  I  would  not  pay  it;  they  would  get  no  duty  and 
they  might  keep  the  property. 

To  be  sure,  I  could  not  spare  the  placards  for  any  length  of  time,  for  they  were 
exceedingly  valuable  to  me  as  advertisements,  and  I  could  not  easily  have  dupli- 
cated them  in  Germany;  but  I  was  determined  that  I  would  not  pay  duties  on 
articles  which  were  not  merchandise.  Every  transfer,  therefore,  of  the  bill  to  a 
new  clerk,  gave  me  a  fresh  twinge,  for  I  imagined  that  every  clerk  added  more 
charges,  and  that  every  charge  was  a  tighter  turn  to  the  vise  which  held  my 
fingers.  Finally,  the  last  clerk  defiantly  thrust  in  my  face  the  terrible  official 

*  See  Illustration,  page  156. 

160 


IN   GERMANY.  161 

document,  on  which  were  scrawled  certain  cabalistic  characters,  signifying  the 
amount  of  money  I  should  be  forced  to  pay  to  the  German  government  before  I 
could  have  my  property.  I  would  not  touch  it;  but  resolved  I  would  really  leave 
my  packages  until  I  could  communicate  with  one  of  our  consuls  in  Germany,  and 
I  said  as  much  to  the  English  gentleman  who  had  kindly  interpreted  for  me. 

He  took  the  bill,  and,  examining  it,  burst  into  a  loud  laugh.  "  Why,  it  is  but 
fifteen  kreutzers! "  he  said. 

"How  much  is  that?"  I  asked,  feeling  for  the  golden  sovereigns  in  my  pocket 

"  Sixpence ! "  was  the  reply. 

I  was  astonished  and  delighted,  and,  as  I  handed  out  the  money,  I  begged  him 
to  tell  the  officials  that  the  custom-house  charge  would  not  pay  the  cost  of  the 
paper  on  which  it  was  written.  But  this  was  a  very  fair  illustration  of  sundry 
red-tape  dealings  in  other  countries  as  well  as  in  Germany. 

I  found  Baden  a  delightful  little  town,  cleaner  and  neater  than  any  city  I  had 
ever  visited. 

When  our  preliminary  arrangements  were  completed,  the  General's  attendants, 
carriage,  ponies  and  liveried  coachmen  and  footmen  arrived  at  Baden-Baden,  and 
were  soon  seen  in  the  streets.  The  excitement  was  intense  and  increased  from 
day  to  day.  Several  crowned  heads,  princes,  lords  and  ladies,  who  were  spend- 
ing the  season  at  Baden-Baden,  with  a  vast  number  of  wealthy  pleasure-seekers 
and  travelers,  crowded  the  saloon  in  which  the  General  exhibited,  during  the 
entire  time  we  remained  in  the  place.  The  charges  for  admission  were  much 
higher  than  had  been  demanded  in  any  other  city. 

From  Baden-Baden  we  went  to  other  celebrated  German  Spas,  including 
Ems,  Homburg  and  Weisbaden.  These  were  all  fashionable  gambling  as  well  as 
watering  places,  and  during  our  visits  they  were  crowded  with  visitors  from  all 
parts  of  Europe.  Our  exhibitions  were  attended  by  thousands  who  paid  the 
same  high  prices  that  were  charged  for  admission  at  Baden-Baden,  and  at  Wies- 
baden, among  many  distinguished  persons,  the  King  of  Holland  came  to  see  the 
little  General.  These  exhibitions  were  among  the  most  profitable  that  had  ever 
been  given,  and  I  was  able  to  remit  thousands  of  dollars  to  my  agents  in  the 
United  States,  to  aid  in  re-purchasing  my  real  estate,  and  to  assist  in  taking  up 
such  clock  notes  as  were  offered  for  sale.  A  short  but  very  remunerative  season 
at  Prankfort-on-the-Maine,  the  home  and  starting-place  of  the  great  house  of  the 
Rothschilds,  assisted  me  largely  in  carrying  out  these  purposes. 

We  exhibited  at  Mayence,  and  several  other  places  in  the  vicinity,  reaping 
golden  harvests  everywhere,  and  then  went  down  the  Rhine  to  Cologne. 

We  remained  at  Cologne  only  long  enough  to  visit  the  famous  cathedral  and  to 
see  other  curiosities  and  works  of  art,  and  then  pushed  on  to  Rotterdam  and 
Amsterdam. 


CHAPTER    XXX. 

IN"   HOLLAND. 

HOLLAND  gav«  me  more  genuine  satisfaction  than  any  other  foreign  country  1 
have  ever  visited,  if  I  except  Great  Britain.  Redeemed  as  a  large  portion  of  the 
whole  surface  of  the  land  has  been  from  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  by  the  wonderful 
dykes,  which  are  monuments  of  the  industry  of  whole  generations  of  human 
beavers,  Holland  seems  to  me  the  most  curious,  as  well  as  interesting  country  in 
the  world.  The  people,  too,  with  their  quaint  costumes,  their  extraordinary 
cleanliness,  their  thrift,  industry  and  frugality,  pleased  me  very  much.  It  is  the 
universal  testimony  of  all  travelers,  that  the  Hollanders  are  the  neatest  and 
most  economical  people  among  all  nations.  So  far  as  cleanliness  is  concerned,  in 
Holland  it  is  evidently  not  next  to,  but  far  ahead  of  godliness.  It  is  rare,  indeed, 
to  meet  a  ragged,  dirty,  or  drunken  person.  The  people  are  very  temperate  and 
economical  in  their  habits;  and  even  the  very  rich — and  there  is  a  vast  amount 
of  wealth  in  the  country — live  with  great  frugality,  though  all  of  the  people  live 
welL 

As  for  the  scenery,  I  cannot  say  much  for  it,  since  it  is  only  diversified  by 
thousands  of  windmills,  which  are  made  to  do  all  kinds  of  work,  from  grinding 
grain  to  pumping  water  from  the  inside  of  the  dykes  back  to  the  sea  again.  As 
I  exhibited  the  General  only  in  Rotterdam  and  Amsterdam,  and  to  no  great 
profit  in  either  city,  we  spent  most  of  our  time  in  rambling;  about  to  see  what 
was  to  be  seen.  In  the  country  villages  it  seemed  as  if  every  house  was  scrubbed 
twice  and  whitewashed  once  every  day  in  the  week,  excepting  Sunday.  Some 
places  were  almost  painfully  pure,  and  I  was  in  one  village  where  horses  and  cattle 
were  not  allowed  to  go  through  the  streets,  and  no  one  was  permitted  to  wear 
their  boots  or  shoes  in  the  houses.  There  is  a  general  and  constant  exercise  of 
brooms,  pails,  floor-brushes  and  mops  all  over  Holland,  and  in  some  places,  even, 
this  kind  of  thing  is  earned  so  far,  I  am  told,  that  the  only  trees  set  out  are 
scrub-oaks. 

The  reason,  I  think,  why  our  exhibitions  were  not  more  successful  in  Rotter- 
dam and  Amsterdam,  is  that  the  people  are  too  frugal  to  spend  much  money  for 
amusements,  but  they  and  their  habits  and  ways  afforded  us  so  much  amusement, 
that  we  were  quite  willing  they  should  give  our  entertainment  the  "go  by,"  as 
they  generally  did.  We  were  in  Amsterdam  at  the  season  of  "  Kremis,"  or  the 
annual  fair  which  is  held  in  all  the  principal  towns,  and  where  shows  of  all 
descriptions  are  open,  at  prices  for  admission  ranging  from  one  to  five  pennies, 
and  are  attended  by  nearly  the  whole  population.  For  the  people  generally,  this 
one  great  holiday  seems  all-sufficient  for  the  whole  year.  I  went  through  scores 
of  booths,  where  curiosities  and  monstrosities  of  all  kinds  were  exhibited,  and 
was  able  to  make  some  purchases  and  engagements  for  the  American  Museum. 
Among  these,  was  the  Albino  family  consisting  of  a  man,  his  wife,  and  son, 
who  were  by  far  the  most  interesting  and  attractive  spf  cimens  of  their  class  I 
had  ever  seen. 

We  visited  the  Hague,  the  capital,  and  the  finest  city  in  Holland.  It  is  hand 
somely  and  regularly  laid  out,  and  contains  a  beautiful  theater,  a  public  picture 

162 


IN   HOLLAND.  163 

gallery,  which  contains  some  of  the  best  works  of  Vandyke,  Paul  Potter,  and 
other  Dutch  masters,  while  the  museum  is  especially  rich  in  rarities  from  China 
and  Japan.  When  we  arrived  at  the  Hague,  Mr.  August  Belmont,  who  had  been 
the  United  States  Minister  at  that  court,  had  just  gone  home;  but  I  heard  many 
encomiums  passed  upon  him  and  his  family,  and  I  was  told  some  pretty  good 
stories  of  his  familiarity  with  the  king,  and  of  the  "jolly  times"  these  two  per- 
sonages frequently  enjoyed  together.  I  did  not  miss  visiting  the  great  govern- 
ment museum,  as  I  wished  particularly  to  see  the  rich  collection  of  Japan  ware 
and  arms,  made  during  the  many  years  when  the  Dutch  carried  on  almost  exclu- 
sively the  entire  foreign  trade  with  the  Japanese.  I  spent  several  days  in 
minutely  examining  these  curious  manufactures  of  a  people  who  were  then 
almost  as  little  known  to  nations  generally  as  are  the  inhabitants  of  the  planet 
Jupiter. 

On  the  first  day  of  my  visit  to  this  museum,  I  stood  for  an  hour  before  a  large 
case  containing  a  most  unique  and  extraordinary  collecion  of  fabulous  animals, 
made  from  paper  and  other  materials,  and  looking  as  natural  and  genuine  as  the 
staffed  skins  of  any  animals  in  the  American  Museum.  There  were  serpents  two 
yards  long,  with  a  head  and  pair  of  feet  at  each  end;  frogs  as  large  as  a  man, 
with  human  hands  and  feet;  turtles  with  three  heads;  monkeys  with  two  heads 
and  six  legs;  scores  of  equally  curious  monstrosities;  and  at  least  two  dozen 
mermaids,  of  all  sorts  and  sizes.  Looking  at  these  ' '  sirens  "  I  easily  divined  from 
whence  the  Feejee  mermaid  originated. 

After  a  truly  delightful  visit  in  Holland,  we  went  back  to  England;  and,  pro- 
ceeding to  Manchester,  opened  our  exhibition.  For  several  days  the  hall  was 
crowded  to  overflowing  at  each  of  the  three,  and  sometimes  four,  entertainments 
we  gave  every  day.  By  this  time,  my  wife  and  two  youngest  daughters  had  come 
over  to  London,  and  I  hired  furnished  lodgings  in  the  suburbs  where  they  could 
live  within  the  strictest  limits  of  economy.  It  was  necessary  now  for  me  to 
return  for  a  few  weeks  to  America,  to  assist  personally  in  forwarding  a  settle- 
ment of  the  clock  difficulties.  So  leaving  the  little  General  in  the  hands  of  trusty 
and  competent  agents  to  carry  on  the  exhibitions  in  my  absence,  I  set  my  face 
once  more  towards  home  and  the  west,  and  took  steamer  at  Liverpool  for  New 
York. 

The  trip,  Like  most  of  the  passages  which  I  have  made  across  the  Atlantic,  was 
an  exceedingly  pleasant  one.  These  frequent  voyages  were  to  me  the  rests,  the 
reliefs  from  almost  unremitting  industry,  anxiety,  and  care,  and  I  always  man- 
aged to  have  more  or  less  fun  on  board  ship  every  time  I  crossed  the  ocean. 
During  the  present  trip,  for  amusement  and  to  pass  away  the  time,  the  passengers 
got  up  a  number  of  mock  trials,  which  afforded  a  vast  deal  of  fun.  A  judge  was 
selected,  jurymen  drawn,  prisoners  arraigned,  counsel  employed,  and  all  the 
formalities  of  a  court  established.  I  have  the  vanity  to  think  that  if  my  good 
fortune  had  directed  me  to  that  profession,  I  should  have  made  a  very  fail- 
lawyer,  for  I  have  always  had  a  great  fondness  for  debate  and  especially  for  the 
cross-examination  of  witnesses,  unless  that  witness  was  P.  T.  Barnum  in  examin- 
ation under  supplementary  proceedings  at  the  instance  of  some  note-shaver,  who 
had  bought  a  clock  note  at  a  discount  of  thirty-six  per  cent.  In  this  mock  court, 
I  was  unanimously  chosen  as  prosecuting  attorney,  and,  as  the  court  was  estab- 
lished expressly  to  convict,  I  had  no  difficulty  in  carrying  the  jury  and  securing 
the  punishment  of  the  prisoner.  A  small  fine  was  generally  imposed,  and  the 
fund  thus  collected  was  given  to  a  poor  sailor  boy  who  had  fallen  from  the  mast 
and  broken  his  leg. 


164  IN   HOLLAND. 

After  several  of  these  trials  hod  been  held,  a  dozen  or  more  of  the  passengers 
secretly  put  their  heads  together  and  resolved  to  place  the  "  showman  "  on  trial 
for  his  life.  An  indictment,  covering  twenty  pages,  was  drawn  up  by  several 
legal  gentlemen  among  the  passengers,  charging  him  with  being  the  Prince  of 
Humbugs,  and  enumerating  a  dozen  special  counts,  containing  charges  of  the  most 
absurd  and  ridiculous  description.  Witnesses  were  then  brought  together,  and 
privately  instructed  what  to  say  and  do.  Two  or  three  days  were  devoted  to 
arranging  this  mighty  prosecution.  When  everything  was  ready,  I  was  arrested, 
and  the  formidable  indictment  read  to  me.  I  saw  at  a  glance  that  time  and  talent 
had  been  brought  into  requisition,  and  that  my  trial  was  to  be  more  elaborate 
than  any  that  had  preceded  it.  I  asked  for  half  an  hour  to  prepare  for  my 
defence,  which  was  granted.  Meanwhile,  seats  were  arranged  to  accommodate 
the  court  and  spectators,  and  extra  settees  were  placed  for  the  ladies  on  the 
upper  deck,  where  they  could  look  down,  see  and  hear  all  that  transpired. 
Curiosity  was  on  tip-toe,  for  it  was  evident  that  this  was  to  be  a  long,  exciting 
and  laughable  trial.  At  the  end  of  half  an  hour  the  judge  was  on  the  bench,  the 
jury  had  taken  their  places;  the  witnesses  were  ready;  the  counsel  for  the  prose- 
cution, four  in  number,  with  pens,  ink,  and  paper  in  profusion,  were  seated,  and 
everything  seemed  ready.  I  was  brought  in  by  a  special  constable,  the  indict- 
ment read,  and  I  was  asked  to  plead  guilty,  or  not  guilty.  I  rose,  and  in  a  most 
solemn  manner,  stated  that  I  could  not  conscientiously  plead  guilty  or  not  guilty; 
that  I  had,  in  fact,  committed  many  of  the  acts  charged  in  the  indictment,  but 
these  acts,  I  was  ready  to  show,  were  not  criminal,  but  on  the  contrary,  worthy 
of  praise.  My  plea  was  received  and  the  first  witness  called. 

He  testified  to  having  visited  the  prisoner's  Museum,  and  of  being  humbugged 
by  the  Feejee  Mermaid;  the  nurse  of  Washington;  and  by  other  curiosities 
natural  and  unnatural.  The  questions  and  answers  having  been  all  arranged  in 
advance,  everything  worked  smoothly.  Acting  as  jny  own  counsel,  I  cross-ex- 
amined the  witness  by  simply  asking  whether  he  sawanything  else  in  the  Museum 
besides  what  he  had  mentioned. 

"Oh!  yes,  [  saw  thousands  of  other  things." 

"  Were  they  curious?" 

"  Certainly;  many  of  them  very  astonishing." 

"  Did  you  witness  a  dramatic  representation  in  the  Museum? " 

"Yes,  sir,  a  very  good  one." 

"  What  did  you  pay  for  all  this? " 

"  Twenty-five  cents." 

"  That  will  do,  sir;  you  can  step  down." 

A  second,  third  and  fourth  witness  were  called,  and  the  examination  was 
similar  to  the  foregoing.  Another  witness  then  appeared  to  testify  in  regard  to 
another  count  in  the  indictment.  He  stated  that  for  several  weeks  he  was  the 
guest  of  the  prisoner,  at  his  country  residence,  Iranistan,  and  ]fb  gave  a  most 
amusing  description  of  the  various  schemes  and  contrivances  which  were  there 
originated,  for  the  purpose  of  being  carried  out  at  some  future  day  in  the  Museum. 

"How  did  you  live  there?"  asked  one  of  the  counsel  for  the  prosecution. 

"Very  well,  indeed,  in  the  daytime,"  was  the  reply;  "plenty  of  the  best  to  eat 
and  drink,  except  liquors.  In  bed,  however,  it  was  impossible  to  sleep.  I  rose 
the  first  night,  struck  a  light,  and  on  examination  found  myself  covered  with 
myriads  of  little  bugs,  so  small  as  to  be  almost  imperceptible.  By  using  my 
microscope  I  discovered  them  to  be  infantile  bedbugs.  After  the  first  night  1  was 
obliged  to  sleep  in  the  coach-house  in  order  to  escape  this  annoyance." 


IN   HOLLAND.  165 

Of  ixmrse  this  elicited  much  mirth.  The  first  question  put  on  the  cross-exami- 
nation was  this: 

"  Are  you  a  naturalist,  sir? " 

The  witness  hesitated.  In  all  the  drilling  that  had  taken  place  before  the  trial, 
neither  the  counsel  nor  witnesses  had  thought  of  what  questions  might  come  up 
in  the  cross-examination,  and  now,  not  seeing  the  drift  of  the  question,  the  wit- 
ness seemed  a  little  bewildered,  and  the  counsel  for  the  prosecution  looked 
puzzled. 

The  question  was  repeated  with  some  emphasis. 

"  No,  sir ! "  replied  the  witness,  hesitatingly,  "  I  am  not  a  naturalist." 

"Then,  sir,  not  being  a  naturalist,  dare  you  affirm  that  those  microscopic 
insects  were  not  humbugs  instead  of  bedbugs  " — (here  the  prisoner  was  interrupted 
by  a  universal  shout  of  laughter,  in  which  the  solemn  judge  himself  joined) — 
"  and  if  they  were  humbugs,  I  suppose  that  even  the  learned  counsel  opposed  to 
me,  will  not  claim  that  they  were  out  of  place? " 

"  They  may  have  been  humbugs,"  replied  the  witness. 

"  That  will  do,  sir;  you  may  go,"  said  I;  and  at  the  same  time,  turning  to  the 
array  of  counsel,  I  remarked,  with  a  smile,  "  You  had  better  have  a  naturalist 
for  your  next  witness,  gentlemen." 

"Don't  be  alarmed,  sir,  we  have  got  one,  and  we  will  now  introduce  him," 
replied  the  counsel. 

The  next  witness  testified  that  he  was  a  planter  from  Georgia,  that  some  years 
since  the  prisoner  visited  his  plantation  with  a  show,  and  that  while  there  he  dis 
covered  an  old  worthless  donkey  belonging  to  the  planter,  and  bought  him  for  five 
dollars.  The  next  year  the  witness  visited  Iranistan,  the  country  seat  of  the  pris- 
oner, and,  while  walking  about  the  grounds,  his  old  donkey,  recognizing  his  former 
master,  brayed;  "  whereupon,"  continued  the  witness,  "  I  walked  up  to  the  animal 
and  found  that  two  men  were  engaged  in  sticking  wool  upon  him,  and  this  animal 
was  afterwards  exhibited  by  the  prisoner  as  the  woolly  horse." 

The  whole  court — spectators,  and  even  the  "prisoner"  himself,  were  convulsed 
with  laughter  at  the  gravity  with  which  the  planter  gave  his  very  ludicrous 
testimony. 

"  What  evidence  have  you,"  I  inquired,  "that  this  was  the  same  donkey  which 
you  sold  to  me?" 

"The  fact  that  the  animal  recognized  me,  as  was  evident  from  his  braying  as 
eoon  as  he  saw  me." 

"  Are  you  a  naturalist,  sir? " 

"Yes,  I  anV  replied  the  planter,  with  firm  emphasis,  as  much  as  to  say,  you 
can't  catch  me  as  you  did  the  other  witness. 

"Oh!  you  are  a  naturalist,  are  you?  Then,  sir,  I  ask  you,  as  a  naturalist,  do 
you  not  know  it  to  be  a  fact  in  natural  history,  that  one  jackass  always  brays  as 
soon  as  he  sees  another? 

This  question  was  received  with  shouts  of  laughter,  in  the  midst  of  which  the, 
nonplussed  witness  backed  out  of  court,  and  all  the  efforts  of  special  constables, 
and  even  the  high  sheriff  himself,  were  unavailing  in  getting  him  again  on  the 
witness  stand. 

This  trial  lasted  two  days,  to  the  great  delight  of  all  on  board.  After  my  suc- 
cess with  the  "naturalist,"  not  one  half  of  the  witnesses  would  appear  against  me. 
In  my  final  argument  I  sifted  the  testimony,  analyzed  its  bearings,  ruffled  tho 
learned  counsel,  disconcerted  the  witnesses,  flattered  the  judge  and  jury,  and  when 
the  judge  had  delivered  his  charge,  the  jury  acquitted  me  without  leaving  their 


166  IN   HOLLAND. 

seats.  The  judge  received  the  verdict,  and  then  announced  that  he  should  fine 
the  naturalist  for  the  mistake  he  made,  as  to  the  cause  of  the  donkey's  braying, 
and  he  should  also  fine  the  several  witnesses,  who,  through  fear  of  the  cross-fire, 
had  refused  to  testify. 

The  trial  afforded  a  pleasant  topic  of  conversation  for  the  rest  of  the  voyage; 
and  the  morning  before  arriving  in  port,  a  vote  of  thanks  was  passed  to  me,  in 
consideration  of  the  amusement  I  had  intentionally  and  unintentionally  furnished 
to  the  passengers  during  the  voyage. 

After  my  arrival  in  New  York,  oftentimes,  in  passing  up  and  down  Broadway, 
I  saw  old  and  prosperous  friends  coming,  but  before  I  came  anywhere  near  them, 
if  they  espied  me,  they  would  dodge  into  a  store,  or  across  the  street,  or  oppor- 
tunely meet  some  one  with  whom  they  had  pressing  business,  or  they  would  be 
very  much  interested  in  something  that  was  going  on  over  the  way,  or  on  top  of 
the  City  Hall.  I  was  delighted  at  this,  for  it  gave  me  at  once  a  new  sensation 
and  anew  experience.  "Ah,  ha!"  I  said  to  myself;  "my  butterfly  friends,  I 
know  you  now;  and,  what  is  more  to  the  point,  if  ever  I  get  out  of  this  bewilder- 
ment of  broken  clock-wheels,  I  shall  not  forget  you; "  and  I  heartily  thanked  the 
old  clock  concern  for  giving  me  the  opportunity  to  learn  this  sad  but  most  needful 
lesson.  I  had  a  very  few  of  the  same  sort  of  experiences  in  Bridgeport,  and  they 
proved  valuable  to  me. 

Mr,  James  D.  Johnson,  of  Bridgeport,  one  of  my  assignees,  who  had  written  to 
me  that  my  personal  presence  might  facilitate  a  settlement  of  my  affairs,  told  me, 
soon  after  my  arrival,  that  there  was  no  probability  of  disposing  of  Iranistan  at 
present,  and  that  I  might  as  well  move  my  family  into  the  house.  I  had  arrived 
in  August,  and  my  family  followed  me  from  London  in  September,  and  October 
20,  1857,  my  second  daughter,  Helen,  was  married  in  the  house  of  her  elder  sister, 
Mrs.  D.  W.  Thompson,  in  Bridgeport,  to  Mr.  Samuel  H.  Hurd. 

Meanwile,  Iranistan,  which  had  been  closed  and  unoccupied  for  more  than  two 
years,  was  once  more  opened  to  the  carpenters  and  painters  whom  Mr.  Johnson 
sent  there  to  put  the  house  in  order.  He  agreed  with  me  that  it  was  best  to  keep 
the  property  as  long  as  possible,  and  in  the  interval,  till  a  purchaser  for  the  estate 
appeared,  or  till  it  was  forced  to  auction,  to  take  up  the  clock  notes  whenever  they 
were  offered.  The  workmen  who  were  employed  in  the  house  were  specially  in- 
structed not  to  smoke  there,  but,  nevertheless,  it  was  subsequently  discovered 
that  some  of  the  men  were  in  the  habit  occasionally  of  going  into  the  main  dome  to 
eat  their  dinners  which  they  brought  with  them,  and  that  they  stayed  there 
awhile  after  dinner  to  smoke  their  pipes.  In  all  probability,  one  of  these  lighted 
pipes  was  left  on  the  cushion  which  covered  the  circular  seat  in  the  dome  and 
ignited  the  tow  with  which  the  cushion  was  stuffed.  It  may  have  been  days  and 
even  weeks  before  this  smouldering  tow  fire  burst  into  flame. 

I  was  staying  at  the  Astor  House,  in  New  York,  when,  on  the  morning  of 
December  18, 1857, 1  received  a  telegram  from  my  brother  Philo  F.  Barnum,  dated 
at  Bridgeport,  and  informing  me  that  Iranistan  was  burned  to  the  ground  that 
morning.  The  alarm  was  given  at  eleven  o'clock  on  the  night  of  the  17th,  and 
the  fire  burned  till  one  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  18th.  My  beautiful  Iranis- 
tan was  gone!  This  was  not  only  a  serious  loss  to  my  estate,  for  it  had  probably 
cost  at  least  $150,000,  but  it  was  generally  regarded  as  a  public  calamity.  It  was 
the  only  building  in  its  peculiar  style  of  architecture  of  any  pretension  in  America, 
and  many  persons  visited  Bridgeport  every  year  expressly  to  see  Iranistan.  The 
insurance  on  the  mansion,  had  usually  been  about  $62,000,  but  I  had  let  some  of  the 
policies  expire  without  renewing  them,  so  that  at  the  time  of  the  fire  there  was  only 


IN    HOLLAND.  167 

$38,000  insurance  on  the  property.     Most  of  the  furniture  and  pictures  were  saved, 
generally  hi  a  damaged  state. 

Subsequently,  my  asignees  sold  the  grounds  and  outhouses  of  Irauistaii  to  the 
late  Elias  Howe,  Jr.,  the  celebrated  inventor  of  the  needle  for  sewing-machines. 
The  property  brought  $50,000,  which,  with  the  $28,000  insurance,  went  into  my 
assets  to  satisfy  clock  creditors.  It  was  Mr.  Howe's  intention  to  erect  a  splendid 
mansion  on  the  estate,  but  his  untimely  and  lamented  death  prevented  the  fulfill- 
ment <>f  the  plan. 


CHAPTER    XXXI. 

THE   ART   OF   MO^EY-GETTING. 

SEEING  the  necessity  of  making  more  money  to  assist  in  extricating  me  froz^ 
my  financial  difficulties,  and  leaving  my  affairs  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  James  D. 
Johnson — my  wife  and  youngest  daughter,  Pauline,  boarding  with  my  eldest 
daughter,  Mrs.  Thompson,  in  Bridgeport — early  in  1858,  I  went  back  to  England, 
and  took  Tom  Thumb  to  all  the  principal  places  in  Scotland  and  Wales,  giving 
many  exhibitions  and  making  much  money  which  was  remitted,  as  heretofore,  to 
my  agents  and  assignees  in  America. 

Finding,  after  a  while,  that  my  personal  attention  was  not  needed  in  the  Tom 
Thumb  exhibitions  and  confiding  him  almost  wholly  to  agents  who  continued  the 
tour  through  Great  Britain,  under  my  general  advice  and  instruction,  I  turned 
my  individual  attention  to  a  new  field.  At  the  suggestion  of  several  American 
gentlemen,  resident  in  London,  I  prepared  a  lecture  on  "The  Art  of  Money- 
Getting."  I  told  my  friends  that,  considering  my  clock  complications,  I  thought 
I  was  more  competent  to  speak  on  "The  Art  of  Money  Losing; "  but  they  encour- 
aged me  by  reminding  me  that  I  could  not  have  lost  money,  if  I  had  not  previ- 
ously possessed  the  faculty  of  making  it.  They  further  assured  me  that  my 
name  having  been  intimately  associated  with  the  Jenny  Land  concerts  and  other 
great  money-making  enterprises,  the  lecture  would  be  sure  to  prove  attractive 
and  profitable. 

The  old  clocks  ticked  in  my  ear  the  reminder  that  I  should  improve  every 
opportunity  to  "  turn  an  honest  penny,"  and  my  lecture  was  duly  announced  for 
delivery  in  the  great  St.  James'  Hall,  Regent  street,  Piccadilly.  It  was  thoroughly 
advertised — a  feature  I  never  neglected — and,  at  the  appointed  time,  the  hall, 
which  would  hold  three  thousand  people,  was  completely  filled,  at  prices  of  three 
and  two  shillings  (seventy-five  and  fifty  cents),  per  seat,  according  to  location.  It 
was  the  evening  of  December  29, 1858.  I  could  see  in  my  audience  all  my  Ameri- 
can friends  who  had  suggested  this  effort;  all  my  theatrical  and  literary  friends; 
and  as  I  saw  several  gentlemen  whom  I  knew  to  be  connected  with  the  leading 
London  papers,  I  felt  sure  that  my  success  or  failure  would  be  duly  chronicled 
next  morning.  There  was,  moreover,  a  general  audience  that  seemed  eager  to 
see  the  "showman"  of  whom  they  had  heard  so  much,  and  to  catch  from  his 
lips  the  "art"  which,  in  times  past,  had  contributed  so  largely  to  his  success  in 
life.  Stimulated  by  these  things,  I  tried  to  do  my  best,  and  I  think  I  did  it.  The 
following  is  the  lecture  substantially  as  it  was  delivered,  though  it  was  inter- 
spersed with  many  anecdotes  and  illustrations  which  are  necessarily  omitted ;  and  1 
should  add,  that  the  subjoined  copy  being  adapted  to  the  meridian  in  which  ii 
has  been  repeatedly  delivered,  contains  numerous  local  allusions  to  men  ana 
matters  in  the  United  States,  which,  of  course,  did  not  appear  in  the  original 
draft  prepared  for  my  English  audiences: 

THE  ART  OF  MONEY-GETTING. 

[n  the  United  States,  where  we  have  more  land  than  people,  it  is  not  at  all  diffi- 
cult for  persons  in  good  health  to  make  money.  In  this  comparatively  new  field 

168 


THE   ART  OF  MONEY-GETTIKG.  169 

there  are  so  many  avenues  of  success  open,  so  many  vocations  which  are  not 
crowded,  that  any  person  of  either  sex  who  is  willing,  at  least  for  the  time 
being,  to  engage  in  any  respectable  occupation  that  offers,  may  find  lucrative 
employment. 

Those  who  really  desire  to  attain  an  independence,  have  only  to  set  their  minds 
upon  it,  and  adopt  the  proper  means,  as  they  do  in  regard  to  any  other  object 
which  they  wish  to  accomplish,  and  the  tiling  is  easily  done.  But  however  easy 
it  may  be  found  to  make  money,  I  have  no  doubt  many  of  my  hearers  will  agree 
it  is  the  most  difficult  thing  in  the  world  to  keep  it.  The  road  to  wealth  is,  as 
Dr.  Franklin  truly  says,  "as  plain  as  the  road  to  mill,"  It  consists  simply  in 
expending  less  than  we  earn;  that  seems  to  be  a  very  simple  problem.  Mr. 
Micawber,  one  of  those  happy  creations  of  the  genial  Dickens,  puts  the  case  in  a 
strong  light  when  he  says  that  to  have  an  income  of  twenty  pounds,  per  annum, 
and  spend  twenty  pounds  and  sixpence,  is  to  be  the  most  miserable  of  men; 
whereas,  to  have  an  income  of  only  twenty  pounds,  and  spend  but  nineteen 
pounds  and  sixpence,  is  to  be  the  happiest  of  mortals.  Many  of  my  hearers  may 
say,  "we  understand  this;  this  is  economy,  and  we  know  economy  is  wealth;  we 
know  we  can't  eat  our  cake  and  keep  it  also."  Yet  I  beg  to  say  that  perhaps 
more  cases  of  failure  arise  from  mistakes  on  this  point  than  almost  any  other. 
The  fact  is,  many  people  think  they  understand  economy  when  they  really  do 
not. 

True  economy  is  misapprehended,  and  people  go  through  life  without  properly 
comprehending  what  that  principle  is.  One  says,  "I  have  an  income  of  so 
much,  and  here  is  my  neighbor  who  has  the  same;  yet  every  year  he  gets. some- 
thing ahead  and  I  fall  short;  why  is  it?  I  know  all  about  economy."  He  thinks 
he  does,  but  he  does  not.  There  are  many  who  think  that  economy  consists  in 
saving  cheese-parings  and  candle-ends,  in  cutting  off  two  pence  from  the 
laundress'  bill  and  doing  all  sorts  of  little,  mean,  dirty  things.  Economy  is  not 
meanness.  The  misfortune  is,  also,  that  this  class  of  persons  let  their  economy 
apply  in  only  one  direction.  They  fancy  they  are  so  wonderfully  economical  in 
saving  a  half-penny  where  they  ought  to  spend  two  pence,  that  they  think  they 
can  afford  to  squander  in  other  directions.  A  few  years  ago,  before  kerosene  oil 
was  discovered  or  thought  of,  one  might  stop  over  night  at  almost  any  farmer's 
house  in  the  agricultural  districts  and  get  a  very  good  supper,  but  after  supper  he 
might  attempt  to  read  in  the  sitting-room,  and  would  find  it  impossible  with  the 
inefficient  light  of  one  candle.  The  hostess,  seeing  his  dilemma,  would  say: 
"  It  is  rather  difficult  to  read  here  evenings;  the  proverb  says  '  you  must  have  a 
ship  at  sea  in  order  to  be  able  to  burn  two  candles  at  once;'  we  never  have  an 
extra  candle  except  on  extra  occasions."  These  extra  occasions  occur,  perhaps, 
twice  a  year.  In  this  way  the  good  woman  saves  five,  six,  or  ten  dollars  in  that 
time;  but  the  information  which  might  be  derived  from  having  the  extra  light 
would,  of  course,  far  outweigh  a  ton  of  candles. 

But  the  trouble  does  not  end  here.  Feeling  that  she  is  so  economical  in  tallow 
candles,  she  thinks  she  can  afford  to  go  frequently  to  the  village  and  spend  twenty 
or  thirty  dollars  for  ribbons  and  furbelows,  many  of  which  are  not  necessary. 
This  false  economy  may  frequently  be  seen  in  men  of  business,  and  in  those 
instances  it  often  runs  to  writing-paper.  You  find  good  business  men  who  save 
all  the  old  envelopes,  and  scraps,  and  would  not  tear  a  new  sheet  of  paper,  if  they 
could  avoid  it,  for  the  world.  This  is  all  very  well;  they  may  in  this  way  save 
five  or  ten  dollars  a  year,  but  being  so  economical  (only  in  note  paper),  they  think 
they  can  afford  to  waste  tii  'e :  to  have  expensive  parties,  and  to  drive  their  car- 


170  THE   AET   OF   MONEY-GETTING. 

riages.  This  is  an  illustration  of  Dr.  Franklin's  "  saving  at  the  spigot  and  wasting 
at  the  bung-hole;"  "  penny  wise  and  pound  foolish."  Punch  in  speaking  of  this 
"one  idea"  class  of  people  says  "they  are  like  the  man  who  bought  a  penny 
herring  for  his  family's  dinner  and  then  hired  a  coach  and  four  to  take  it  home.'' 
I  never  knew  a  man  to  succeed  by  practising  this  kind  of  economy. 

True  economy  consists  in  always  making  the  income  exceed  the  out-go.  Wear 
the  old  clothes  a  little  longer  if  necessary;  dispense  with  the  new  pair  of  gloves; 
mend  the  old  dress;  live  on  plainer  food  if  need  be;  so  that,  under  all  circum- 
stances, unless  some  unforeseen  accident  occurs,  there  will  be  a  margin  in  favor  of 
the  income.  A  penny  here,  and  a  dollar  there,  placed  at  interest,  goes  on  accu- 
mulating, and  in  this  way  the  desired  result  is  attained.  It  requires  some  training, 
perhaps,  to  accomplish  this  economy,  but  when  once  used  to  it,  you  will  find  there 
is  more  satisfaction  in  rational  saving,  than  in  irrational  spending.  Here  is  a 
recipe  which  I  recommend;  I  have  found  it  to  work  an  excellent  cure  for  extrava- 
gance, and  especially  for  mistaken  economy:  When  you  find  that  you  have  no 
surplus  at  the  end  of  the  year,  and  yet  have  a  good  income,  I  advise  you  to  take 
a  few  sheets  of  paper  and  form  them  into  a  book  and  mark  down  every  item  of 
expenditure.  Post  it  every  day  or  week  in  two  columns,  one  headed  ' '  necessaries  " 
or  even  "comforts,"  and  the  other  headed  "luxuries,"  and  you  will  find  that  the 
latter  column  will  be  double,  treble,  and  frequently  ten  times  greater  than  the 
former.  The  real  comforts  of  life  cost  but  a  small  portion  of  what  most  of  us 
can  earn.  Dr.  Franklin  says  "  it  is  the  eyes  of  others  and  not  our  own  eyes  which 
ruin  us.  If  all  the  world  were  blind  except  myself  I  should  not  care  for  fine 
clothes  or  furniture."  It  is  the  fear  of  what  Mrs.  Grundy  may  say  that  keeps  the 
noses  of  many  worthy  families  to  the  grindstone.  In  America  many  persons 
like  to  repeat  "we  are  all  free  and  equal,"  but  it  is  a  great  mistake  in  more 
senses  than  one. 

That  we  are  born  "  free  and  equal"  is  a  glorious  truth  in  one  sense,  yet  we  are 
not  all  born  equally  rich,  and  we  never  shall  be.  One  may  say,  "  there  is  a  man 
who  has  an  income  of  fifty  thousand  dollars  per  annum,  while  I  have  but  one 
thousand  dollars;  I  knew  that  fellow  when  he  was  poor  like  myself,  now  he  is 
rich  and  thinks  he  is  better  than  I  am;  I  will  show  him  that  I  am  as  good  as  he  is; 
I  will  go  and  buy  a  horse  and  buggy;  no,  I  cannot  do  that,  but  I  will  go  and  hire 
one  and  ride  this  afternoon  on  the  same  road  that  he  does,  and  thus  prove  to  him 
that  I  am  as  good  as  he  is." 

My  friend,  you  need  not  take  that  trouble;  you  can  easily  prove  that  you  are 
"  as  good  as  he  is; "  you  have  only  to  behave  as  well  as  he  does;  but  you  cannot 
make  anybody  believe  that  you  are  rich  as  he  is.  Besides,  if  you  put  on  these 
"airs,"  and  waste  your  time  and  spend  your  money,  your  poor  wife  will  be 
obliged  to  scrub  her  fingers  off  at  home,  and  buy  her  tea  two  ounces  at  a  time, 
and  everything  else  in  proportion,  in  order  that  you  may  keep  up  "  appearances," 
and,  after  all,  deceive  nobody.  On  the  other  hand,  Mrs.  Smith  may  say  that  her 
next-door  neighbor  married  Johnson  for  his  money,  and  "everybody  says  so." 
She  has  a  nice  one-thousand  dollar  camel's  hair  shawl,  and  she  will  make  Smith 
get  her  an  imitation  one,  and  she  will  sit  in  a  pew  right  next  to  her  neighbor  in 
church,  in  order  to  prove  that  she  is  her  equal 

My  good  woman,  you  will  not  get  ahead  in  the  world,  if  your  vanity  and  envy 
thus  take  the  lead.  In  this  country,  where  we  believe  the  majority  ought  to 
rule,  we  ignore  that  principle  in  regard  to  fashion,  and  let  a  handful  of  people, 
calling  themselves  the  aristocracy,  run  up  a  false  standard  of  perfection,  and  in 
wudeavoring  to  rise  to  that  standard,  we  constantly  keep  ourselves  poor;  all  the 


THE  ART  OF   MONEY-GETTING.  171 

time  digging  away  for  the  sake  of  outside  appearances.  How  much  wiser  to  be 
a  "  law  unto  ourselves  "  and  say,  "  we  will  regulate  our  out-go  by  our  income, 
and  lay  up  something  for  a  rainy  day."  People  ought  to  be  as  sensible  on  the 
subject  of  money-getting  as  on  any  other  subject.  Like  causes  produces  like 
effects.  You  cannot  accumulate  a  fortune  by  taking  the  road  that  leads  to 
poverty.  It  needs  no  prophet  to  tell  us  that  those  who  live  fully  up  to  their 
means,  without  any  thought  of  a  reverse  in  this  life,  can  never  attain  a  pecuniary 
independence. 

Men  and  women  accustomed  to  gratify  every  whim  and  caprice,  will  find  it 
hard,  at  first,  to  cut  down  their  various  unnecessary  expenses,  and  will  feel  it  a 
great  self-denial  to  live  in  a  smaller  house  than  they  have  been  accustomed  to, 
with  less  expensive  furniture,  less  company,  less  costly  clothing,  fewer  servants, 
a  less  number  of  balls,  parties,  theater-goings,  carriage-ridings,  pleasure  excur- 
sions, cigar-smokings,  liquor-drinMngs,  and  other  extravagances;  but,  after  all, 
if  they  will  try  the  plan  of  laying  by  a  "nest-egg,"  or,  in  other  words,  a  small 
sum  of  money,  at  interest  or  judiciously  invested  in  land,  they  will  be  surprised 
at  the  pleasure  to  be  derived  from  constantly  adding  to  their  little  "  pile,"  as  well 
as  from  all  the  economical  habits  which  are  engendered  by  this  course. 

The  old  suit  of  clothes,  and  the  old  bonnet  and  dress,  will  answer  for  another 
season;  the  Croton  or  spring  water  will  taste  better  than  champagne;  a  cold  bath 
and  a  brisk  walk  will  prove  more  exhilarating  than  a  ride  in  the  finest  coach;  a 
social  chat,  an  evening's  reading  in  the  family  circle,  or  an  hour's  play  of  "hunt 
the  slipper"  and  "blind  man's  buff, "will  be  far  more  pleasant  than  a  fifty  or  five 
hundred  dollar  party,  when  the  reflection  on  the  difference  in  cost  is  indulged  in 
by  those  who  begin  to  know  the  pleasures  of  saving.  Thousands  of  men  are  kept 
poor,  and  tens  of  thousands  are  made  so  after  they  have  acquired  quite  sufficient 
to  support  them  well  through  life,  in  consequence  of  laying  their  plans  of  living 
on  too  broad  a  platform.  Some  families  expend  twenty  thousand  dollars  per 
annum,  and  some  much  more,  and  would  scarcely  know  how  to  li ve  on  less,  while 
others  secure  more  solid  enjoyment  frequently  on  a  twentieth  part  of  that  amount. 
Prosperity  is  a  more  severe  ordeal  than  adversity,  especially  sudden  prosperity. 
"  Easy  come,  easy  go,"  is  an  old  and  true  proverb.  A  spirit  of  pride  and  vanity, 
when  permitted  to  have  full  sway,  is  the  undying  canker-worm  which  gnaws  the 
very  vitals  of  a  man's  worldy  possessions,  let  them  be  small  or  great,  hundreds 
or  millions.  Many  persons,  as  they  begin  to  prosper,  immediately  expand  their 
ideas  and  commence  expending  for  luxuries,  until  in  a  short  time  then-  expenses 
swallow  up  then-  income,  and  they  become  ruined  in  their  ridiculous  attempts  to 
keep  up  appearances,  and  make  a  "  sensation." 

I  know  a  gentleman  of  fortune  who  says,  that  when  he  first  began  to  prosper, 
his  wife  would  have  a  new  and  elegant  sofa.  "That  sofa,"  he  says,  "cost  me 
thirty  thousand  dollars! "  When  the  sofa  reached  the  house,  it  was  found  neces- 
sary to  get  chairs  to  match;  then  side-boards,  carpets  and  tables  "to  correspond " 
with  them,  and  so  on  through  the  entire  stock  of  furniture ;  when  at  last  it  was  found 
that  the  house  itself  was  quite  too  small  and  old-fashioned  for  the  furniture,  and 
a  new  one  was  built  to  correspond  with  the  new  purchases;  "  thus,"  added  my 
friend,  "  summing  up  an  outlay  of  thirty  thousand  dollars,  caused  by  that  single 
sofa,  and  saddling  on  me,  in  the  shape  of  servants,  equipage,  and  the  necessary 
expenses  attendant  upon  keeping  up  a  fine  'establishment,'  a  yearly  outlay  of 
eleven  thousand  dollars,  and  a  tight  pinch  at  that;  whereas,  ten  years  ago,  we 
lived  with  much  more  real  comfort,  because  with  much  less  care,  on  as  many 
hundreds.  The  truth  is,"  he  continued,  "that  sofa  would  have  brought  me  to 


172  THE   ART  OF 

inevitable  bankruptcy,  had  not  a  most  unexampled  tide  of  prosperity  kept  me 
above  it,  and  had  I  not  checked  the  natural  desire  to  '  cut  a  dash.' " 

The  foundation  of  success  in  life  is  good  health;  that  is  the  substratum  of  for- 
tune; it  is  also  the  basis  of  happiness.  A  person  cannot  accumulate  a  fortune 
very  well  when  he  is  sick.  He  has  no  ambition;  no  incentive;  no  force.  Of 
course,  there  are  those  who  have  bad  health  and  cannot  help  it;  you  cannot 
expect  that  such  persons  can  accumulate  wealth;  but  there  are  a  great  many  in 
poor  health  who  need  not  be  so. 

If,  then,  sound  health  is  the  foundation  of  success  and  happiness  in  life,  how 
important  it  is  that  we  should  study  the  laws  of  health,  which  is  but  another 
expression  for  the  laws  of  nature  1  The  closer  we  keep  to  the  laws  of  nature,  the 
nearer  we  are  to  good  health,  and  yet  how  many  persons  there  are  who  pay  no 
attention  to  natural  laws,  but  absolutely  transgress  them,  even  against  their  own 
natural  inclination.  We  ought  to  know  that  the  "sin  of  ignorance  "is  never 
winked  at  in  regard  to  the  violation  of  nature's  laws;  their  infraction  always 
brings  the  penalty.  A  child  may  thrust  its  finger  into  the  flames  without  know- 
ing it  will  burn,  and  so  suffers,  repentance,  even,  will  not  stop  the  smart.  Many 
of  our  ancestors  knew  very  little  about  the  principle  of  ventilation.  They  did 
not  know  much  about  oxygen,  whatever  other  "gin"  they  might  have  been 
acquainted  with;  and  consequently,  they  built  their  houses  with  little  seven-by- 
nine  feet  bedrooms,  and  these  good  old  pious  Puritans  would  lock  themselves  up 
in  one  of  these  cells,  say  their  prayers  and  go  to  bed.  In  the  morning  they 
would  devoutly  return  thanks  for  the  "preservation  of  their  lives,"  during  the 
night,  and  nobody  had  better  reason  to  be  thankfuL  Probably  some  big  crack  in 
the  window,  or  in  the  door,  let  in  a  little  fresh  air,  and  thus  saved  them. 

Many  persons  knowingly  violate  the  laws  of  nature  against  their  better  im- 
pulses, for  the  sake  of  fashion.  For  instance,  there  is  one  thing  that  nothing 
living  except  a  vile  worm  ever  naturally  loved,  and  that  is  tobacco;  yet  how 
many  persons  there  are  who  deliberately  train  an  unnatural  appetite,  and  over- 
come this  implanted  aversion  for  tobacco,  to  such  a  degree  that  they  get  to  love 
it.  They  have  got  hold  of  a  poisonous,  filthy  weed,  or  rather  that  takes  a  firm 
hold  of  them.  Here  are  married  men  who  run  about  spitting  tobacco  juice  on 
the  carpet  and  floors,  and  sometimes  even  upon  their  wives  besides.  They  do 
Dot  kick  their  wives  out  of  doors  like  drunken  men,  but  their  wives,  I  have  no 
doubt,  often  wish  they  were  outside  of  the  house.  Another  perilous  feature  is 
that  this  artificial  appetite,  like  jealousy,  "  grows  by  what  it  feeds  on; "  when  you 
love  that  which  is  unnatural,  a  stronger  appetite  is  created  for  the  hurtful  thing 
than  the  natural  desire  for  what  is  harmless.  There  is  an  old  proverb  which 
says  that  "  habit  is  second  nature,"  but  an  artificial  habit  is  stronger  than  nature. 
Take  for  instance,  an  old  tobacco-chewer;  his  love  for  the  "quid'  is  stronger 
than  his  love  for  any  particular  kind  of  food.  He  can  give  up  roast  beef  easier 
than  give  up  the  weed. 

Young  lads  regret  that  they  are  not  men;  they  would  like  to  go  to  bed  boys 
and  wake  up  men;  and  to  accomplish  this  they  copy  the  bad  habits  of  their  sen- 
iors. Little  Tommy  and  Johnny  see  their  fathers  or  uncles  smoke  a  pipe,  and 
they  say,  "  If  I  could  only  do  that,  I  would  be  a  man  too;  uncle  John  has  gone 
out  and  left  his  pipe  of  tobacco,  let  us  try  it."  They  take  a  match  and  light  it, 
and  then  puff  away.  "We  will  learn  to  smoke;  do  you  like  it  Johnny?"  That 
lad  dolefully  replies:  "Not  very  much;  it  tastes  bitter;'1  by  and  by  he  grows 
pale,  but  he  persists  and  he  soon  offers  up  a  sacrifice  on  the  altar  of  fashion;  but 


THE   ART   OF   MONEY-GETTING.  173 

the  boys  stick  to  it  and  persevere  until  at  last  they  conquer  their  natural  appetites 
and  become  the  victims  of  acquired  tastes. 

I  speak  "  by  the  book,"  for  I  have  noticed  its  effects  on  myself,  having  gone  so 
far  as  to  smoke  ten  or  fifteen  cigars  a  day,  although  I  have  not  used  the  weed 
during  the  last  fourteen  years,  and  never  shall  again.  The  more  a  man  smokes, 
the  more  he  craves  smoking;  the  last  cigar  smoked  simply  excites  the  desire  for 
another,  and  so  on  incessantly. 

Take  the  tobacco-chewer.  In  the  morning,  when  he  gets  up,  he  puts  a  quid  in 
his  mouth  and  keeps  it  there  all  day,  never  taking  it  out  except  to  exchange  it 
for  a  fresh  one,  or  when  he  is  going  to  eat;  oh!  yes,  at  intervals  during  the  day 
and  evening,  many  a  chewer  takes  out  the  quid  and  holds  it  in  his  hand  long 
enough  to  take  a  drink,  and  then  pop  it  goes  back  again.  This  simply  proves  that 
the  appetite  for  rum  is  even  stronger  than  that  for  tobacco.  When  the  tobacco- 
chewer  goes  to  your  country  seat  and  you  show  him  your  grapery  and  fruit 
house,  and  the  beauties  of  your  garden,  when  you  offer  him  some  fresh,  ripe 
fruit,  and  say,  "  My  friend,  I  have  got  here  the  most  delicious  apples,  and  pears, 
and  peaches,  and  apricots;  I  havo  imported  them  from  Spain,  France  and  Italy 
— just  see  those  luscious  grapes;  there  is  nothing  more  delicious  nor  more  healthy 
than  ripe  fruit,  so  help  yourself;  I  want  to  see  you  delight  yourself  with  these 
things;"  he  will  roll  the  dear  quid  under  his  tongue  and  answer,  "No,  I  thank 
you,  I  have  got  tobacco  in  my  mouth."  His  palate  hasjaecome  narcotized  hy  the 
noxious  weed,  and  he  has  lost,  in  a  great  measure,  the  delicate  and  enviable 
taste  for  fruits.  This  shows  what  expensive,  useless  and  injurious  habits  men  will 
get  into.  I  speak  from  experience.  I  have  smoked  until  I  trembled  like  an  aspen 
leaf,  the  blood  rushed  to  my  head,  and  I  had  a  palpitation  of  the  heart  which  I 
thought  was  heart  disease,  till  I  was  almost  killed  with  fright.  When  I  consulted 
my  physician,  he  said  "break  off  tobacco  using."  I  was  not  only  injuring  my 
health  and  spending  a  great  deal  of  money,  but  I  was  setting  a  bad  example.  I 
obeyed  his  counsel.  No  young  man  in  the  world  ever  looked  so  beautiful,  as  he 
thought  he  did,  behind  a  fifteen  cent  cigar  or  a  meerschaum! 

These  remarks  apply  with  tenfold  force  to  the  use  of  intoxicating  drinks.  To 
make  money,  requires  a  clear  brain.  A  man  has  got  to  see  that  two  and  two 
make  four;  he  must  lay  all  his  plans  with  reflection  and  forethought,  and  closely 
examine  all  the  details  and  the  ins  and  outs  of  business.  As  no  man  can  succeed 
in  business  unless  he  has  a  brain  to  enable  him  to  lay  his  plans,  and  reason  to 
guide  him  in  their  execution,  so,  no  matter  how  bountifully  a  man  maybe  blessed 
with  intelligence,  if  the  brain  is  muddled,  and  his  judgment  warped  by  intoxi- 
cating drinks,  it  is  impossible  for  him  to  carry  on  business  successfully.  How 
many  good  opportunities  have  passed,  never  to  return,  while  a  man  was  sipping 
a  "social  glass,"  with  his  friend!  How  many  foolish  bargains  have  been  made 
under  the  influence  of  the  "nervine,"  which  temporarily  makes  its  victim  think 
he  is  rich.  How  many  important  chances  have  been  put  off  until  to-morrow, 
and  then  forever,  because  the  wine  cup  has  thrown  the  system  into  a  state  of 
lassitude,  neutralizing  the  energies  so  essential  to  success  in  business.  Verily, 
"wine  is  a  mocker."  The  use  of  intoxicating  drinks  as  a  beverage,  is  as  much 
an  infatuation,  as  is  the  smoking  of  opium  by  the  Chinese,  and  the  former  is 
quite  as  destructive  to  the  success  of  the  business  man  as  the  latter.  It  is  an 
unmitigated  evil,  utterly  indefensible  in  the  light  of  philosophy,  religion  or  good 
sense.  It  is  the  parent  of  nearly  every  other  evil  in  our  country. 

DON'T  MISTAKE  YOUK  VOCATION. — The  safest  plan,  and  the  one  most  sure  of 
success  for  the  young  man  starting  in  life,  is  to  select  the  vocation  which  is  most 


174  THE   ART  OF   ilOXEY-GETTIKO. 

congenial  to  his  tastes.  Parents  and  guardians  are  often  quite  too  npgligent  in 
regard  to  this.  It  is  very  common  for  a  father  to  say,  for  example:  "1  have 
five  boys.  I  will  make  Billy  a  clergyman;  John  a  lawyer;  Tom  a  doctor,  aiid 
Dick  a  farmer."  He  then  goes  into  town  and  looks  about  to  see  what  he  will  do 
with  Sammy.  He  returns  home  and  says  "  Sammy,  I  see  watch-making  is  a 
nice,  genteel  business;  I  think  I  will  make  you  a  goldsmith."  He  does  this, 
regardless  of  Sam's  natural  inclinations,  or  genius. 

We  are  all,  no  doubt,  born  for  a  wise  purpose.  There  is  as  much  diversity  in 
our  brains  as  in  our  countenances.  Some  are  born  natural  mechanics,  while  some 
have  great  aversion  to  machinery.  Let  a  dozen  boys  of  ten  years  get  together, 
and  you  will  soon  observe  two  or  three  are  "  whittling "  out  some  ingenious 
device;  working  with  locks  or  complicated  machinery.  When  they  were  but  five 
years  old,  their  father  could  find  no  toy  to  please  them  like  a  puzzle.  They  are 
natural  mechanics;  but  the  other  eight  or  nine  boys  have  different  aptitudes.  I 
belong  to  the  latter  class;  I  never  had  the  slightest  love  for  mechanism;  on  the 
contrary,  I  have  a  sort  of  abhorrence  for  complicated  machinery.  I  never  had 
ingenuity  enough  to  whittle  a  cider  tap  so  it  would  not  leak.  I  never  could  make 
a  pen  that  I  could  write  with,  or  understand  the  principle  of  a  steam  engine.  If 
a  man  was  to  take  such  a  boy  as  I  was,  and  attempt  to  make  a  watchmaker  of 
him,  the  boy  might,  after  an  apprenticeship  of  five  or  seven  years,  be  able  to  take 
apart  and  put  together  a*watch;  but  all  through  life  he  would  be  working  up  hill 
and  seizing  every  excuse  for  leaving  his  work  and  idling  away  his  time.  Watch- 
making is  repulsive  to  him, 

Unless  a  man  enters  upon  the  vocation  intended  for  him  by  nature,  and  best 
suited  to  his  peculiar  genius,  he  cannot  succeed.  I  am  glad  to  believe  that  the 
majority  of  persons  do  find  their  right  vocation.  Yet  we  see  many  who  have 
mistaken  their  calling,  from  the  blacksmith  up  (or  down)  to  the  clergyman. 
You  will  see,  for  instance,  that  extraordinary  linguist  the  "learned  blacksmith," 
who  ought  to  have  been  a  teacher  of  languages;  and  you  may  have  seen  lawyers, 
doctors  and  clergymen  who  were  better  fitted  by  nature  for  the  anvil  or  the 
lapstone. 

SELECT  THE  RIGHT  LOCATION. — After  securing  the  right  vocation,  you  must 
be  careful  to  select  the  proper  location.  You  may  have  been  cut  out  for  a  hotel 
keeper,  and  they  say  it  requires  a  genius  to  "know  how  to  keep  a  hotel."  You 
might  conduct  a  hotel  like  clock-work,  and  provide  satisfactorily  for  five  hundred 
guests  every  day;  yet,  if  you  should  locate  your  house  in  a  small  village  where 
there  is  no  railroad  communication  or  public  travel,  the  location  would  be  your 
ruin.  It  is  equally  important  that  you  do  not  commence  business  where  there  are 
already  enough  to  meet  all  demands  hi  the  same  occupation.  I  remember  a  case 
which  illustrates  this  subject.  When  I  was  in  London  in  1858,  I  was  passing 
down  Holborn  with  an  English  friend  and  came  to  the  "penny  shows."  They 
had  immense  cartoons  outside,  portraying  the  wonderful  curiosities  to  be  seen  "  all 
for  a  penny. "  Being  a  little  in  the  ' '  show  line  "  myself,  I  said  "  let  us  go  in  here. ' ' 
We  soon  found  ourselves  in  the  presence  of  the  illustrious  showman,  and  he  proved 
to  be  the  sharpest  man  hi  that  line  I  had  ever  met.  He  told  us  some  extraordinary 
stories  in  reference  to  his  bearded  ladies,  his  Albinos,  and  his  Armadillos,  which 
we  could  hardly  believe,  but  thought  it  "  better  to  believe  it  than  look  after  the 
proof."  He  finally  begged  to  call  our  attention  to  some  wax  statuary,  and  showed 
Us  a  lot  of  the  dirtiest  and  filthiest  wax  figures  imaginable.  They  looked  as  if 
they  had  not  seen  water  since  the  Deluge. 


THE   ART   OF   MONEY-GETTING.  175 

"What  is  there  so  wonderful  about  your  statuary?"  I  asked. 

"I  beg  you  not  to  speak  so  satirically,"  he  replied,  "Sir,  these  are  not  Madam 
Tussaud's  wax  figures,  all  covered  with  gilt  and  tinsel  and  imitation  diamonds, 
And  copied  from  engravings  and  photographs.  Mine,  sir,  wore  taken  from  life. 
Whenever  you  look  updn  one  of  those  figures,  you  may  consider  that  you  are 
looking  upon  the  living  individual." 

Glancing  casually  at  them,  I  saw  one  labelled  "  Henry  VIII.,"  and  feeling  a  little 
curious  upon  seeing  that  it  looked  like  Calvin  Edson,  the  living  skeleton,  I  said: 

"  Do  you  call  that  '  Henry  the  Eighth? ' " 

He  replied,  ' '  Certainly,  sir ;  it  was  taken  from  lif e  at  Hampton  Court,  by  special 
order  of  his  majesty,  on  such  a  day." 

He  would  have  given  the  hour  of  the  day  if  I  had  insisted;  I  said,  "  Everybody 
knows  that '  Henry  VIII.'  was  a  great  stout  old  king,  and  that  figure  is  lean  and 
lank;  what  do  you  say  to  that?" 

"  Why,"  he  replied,  "  you  would  be  lean  and  lank  yourself,  if  you  sat  there  as 
long  as  he  has." 

There  was  no  resisting  sucn  arguments.  I  said  to  my  English  friend,  "Let  us 
go  out;  do  not  tell  him  who  I  am;  I  show  the  white  feather;  he  beats  me." 

He  followed  us  to  the  door,  and  seeing  the  rabble  in  the  street,  he  called  out, 
"ladies  and  gentlemen,  I  beg  to  draw  your  attention  to  the  respectable  character 
of  my  visitors,"  pointing  to  us  as  we  walked  away.  I  called  upon  him  a  couple 
of  days  afterwards;  told  him  who  I  was,  and  said: 

"My  friend,  you  are  an  excellent  showman,  but  you  have  selected  a  bad 
location." 

He  replied,  "  This  is  true,  sir;  I  feel  that  all  my  talents  are  thrown  away;  but 
what  can  I  do? " 

"  You  can  go  to  America,"  I  replied.  "  You  can  give  full  play  to  your  faculties 
over  there;  you  will  find  plenty  of  elbow-room  in  America;  I  will  engage  you 
for  two  years;  after  that  you  will  be  able  to  go  on  your  own  account." 

He  accepted  my  offer  and  remained  two  years  hi  my  New  York  Museum.  He 
then  went  to  New  Orleans  and  carried  on  a  traveling  show  business  during  the 
summer.  To-day  he  is  worth  sixty  thousand  dollars,  simply  because  he  selected 
the  right  vocation  and  also  secured  the  proper  location.  The  old  proverb  says, 
"  Three  removes  are  as  bad  as  a  fire,"  but  when  a  man  is  in  the  fire,  it  matters  but 
little  how  soon  or  how  often  he  removes. 

AVOID  DEBT. — Young  men  starting  in  life  should  avoid  running  into  debt. 
There  is  scarcely  anything  that  drags  a  person  down  like  debt.  It  is  a  slavish 
position  to  get  in,  yet  we  find  many  a  young  man,  hardly  out  of  his  "  teens,"  run- 
ning in  debt.  He  meets  a  chum  and  says,  " Look  at  this:  I  have  got  trusted  fora 
new  suit  of  clothes."  He  seems  to  look  upon  the  clothes  as  so  much  given  to  him; 
well,  it  frequently  is  so,  but,  if  he  succeeds  in  paying  and  then  gets  trusted  again, 
he  is  adopting  a  habit  which  will  keep  him  in  poverty  through  life.  Debt  robs  a 
man  of  his  self-respect,  and  makes  him  almost  despise  himself.  Grunting  and 
groaning  and  working  for  what  he  has  eaten  up  or  worn  out,  and  now  when  he  is 
called  upon  to  pay  up,  he  has  nothing  to  show  for  his  money;  this  is  properly 
termed  "working  for  a  dead  horse."  I  do  not  speak  of  merchants  buying  and 
selling  on  credit,  or  of  those  who  buy  on  credit  in  order  to  turn  the  purchase  to  a 
profit.  The  old  Quaker  said  to  his  farmer  son,  "  John,  never  get  trusted;  but  if 
thee  gets  trusted  for  anything,  let  it  be  for  'manure,'  because  that  will  help  thee 
pay  it  back  again." 


176  THE   ART   OF   MONEY-GETTING. 

Mr.  Beecher  advised  young  men  to  get  in  debt  if  they  could  to  a  small  amount 
in  the  purchase  of  land,  in  the  country  districts.  "If  a  young  man,"  he  says, 
"  will  only  get  in  debt  for  some  land  and  then  get  married,  these  two  things  will 
keep  him  straight,  or  nothing  will"  This  may  be  safe  to  a  limited  extent,  but 
getting  in  debt  for  what  you  eat  and  drink  and  wear  is  to  be  avoided.  Some 
families  have  a  foolish  habit  of  getting  credit  at  "  the  stores,"  and  thus  frequently 
purchase  many  things  which  might  have  been  dispensed  with. 

It  is  all  very  well  to  say,  "  I  have  got  trusted  for  sixty  days,  and  if  I  don't  have 
the  money  the  creditor  will  think  nothing  about  it."  There  is  no  class  of  people 
in  the  world,  who  have  such  good  memories  as  creditors.  When  the  sixty  days 
run  out,  you  will  have  to  pay.  If  you  do  not  pay,  you  will  break  your  promise, 
and  probably  resort  to  a  falsehood.  You  may  make  some  excuse  or  get  in  debt 
elsewhere  to  pay  it,  but  that  only  involves  you  the  deeper. 

A  good-looking,  lazy  young  fellow,  was  the  apprentice  boy,  Horatio.  His 
employer  said,  "Horatio,  did  you  ever  see  a  snail?"  "I — think — I — have,"  he 
drawled  out.  "  You  must  have  met  him  then,  for  I  am  sure  you  never  overtook 
one,"  said  the  "boss."  Your  creditor  will  meet  you  or  overtake  you  and  say, 
"  Now,  my  young  friend,  you  agreed  to  pay  me;  you  have  not  done  it,  you  must 
give  me  your  note."  You  give  the  note  on  interest  and  it  commences  working 
against  you;  "it  is  a  dead  horse."  The  creditor  goes  to  bed  at  night  and  wakes 
up  in  the  morning  better  off  than  when  he  retired  to  bed,  because  his  interest  has 
increased  during  the  night,  but  you  grow  poorer  while  you  are  sleeping,  for  the 
interest  is  accumulating  against  you. 

Money  is  in  some  respects  like  fire;  it  is  a  very  excellent  servant  but  a  terrible 
master.  When  you  have  it  mastering  you;  when  interest  is  constantly  piling  up 
against  you,  it  will  keep  you  down  in  the  worst  kind  of  slavery.  But  let  money 
work  for  you,  and  you  have  the  most  devoted  servant  in  the  world.  It  is  no  "  eye- 
servant."  There  is  nothing  animate  or  inanimate  that  will  work  so  faithfully  as 
money  when  placed  at  interest,  well  secured.  It  works  night  and  day,  and  in  wet 
or  dry  weather. 

I  was  born  in  the  blue-law  State  of  Connecticut,  where  the  old  Puritans  had 
laws  so  rigid  that  it  was  said,  "they  fined  a  man  for  kissing  his  wife  on  Sunday." 
Yet  these  rich  old  Puritans  would  have  thousands  of  dollars  at  interest,  and  on 
Saturday  night  would  be  worth  a  certain  amount;  on  Sunday  they  would  go  to 
church  and  perform  all  the  duties  of  a  Christian.  On  waking  up  on  Monday 
morning,  they  would  find  themselves  considerably  richer  than  the  Saturday  night 
previous,  simply  because  their  money  placed  at  interest  had  worked  faithfully  for 
them  all  day  Sunday,  according  to  law ! 

Do  not  let  it  work  against  you;  if  you  do  there  is  no  chance  for  success  in  life 
so  far  as  money  is  concerned.  John  Randolph,  the  eccentric  Virginian,  once 
exclaimed  in  Congress,  "Mr.  Speaker,  I  have  discovered  the  philosopher's  stone: 
pay  as  you  go."  Thi3  is,  indeed,  nearer  to  the  philosopher's  stone  than  any 
alchemist  has  ever  yet  arrived. 

PERSEVERE. — When  a  man  is  in  the  right  path,  he  must  persevere.  I  speak  of 
this  because  there  are  some  persons  who  are  "born  tired; "  naturally  lazy  and 
possessing  no  self-reliance  and  no  perseverance.  But  they  can  cultivate  these 
qualities,  as  Davy  Crockett  said: 

"  This  thing  remember,  when  I  am  dead , 
Be  sure  you  are  right,  then  go  ahead.'1 


THE  AET  OP  MONEY-GETTING.  177 

It  is  this  go-aheaditiveness,  this  determination  not  to  let  the  "horrors"  or  the 
"blues"  take  possession  of  you,  so  as  to  make  you  relax  your  energies  in  the 
struggle  for  independence,  which  you  must  cultivate. 

How  many  have  almost  reached  the  goal  of  their  ambition,  but,  losing  faith  in 
themselves,  have  relaxed  their  energies,  and  the  golden  prize  has  been  lost  forever. 

It  is,  no  doubt,  often  true,  as  Shakespeare  says: 

"There  Is  a  tide  In  the  affairs  of  men, 
Which,  taken  at  the  flood,  leads  on  to  fortune." 

If  you  hesitate,  some  bolder  hand  will  stretch  out  before  you  and  get  the  prize. 
Remember  the  proverb  of  Solomon:  "He  becometh  poor  that  dealeth  with  a 
slack  hand;  but  the  hand  of  the  diligent  maketh  rich." 

Perseverance  is  sometimes  but  another  word  for  self-reliance.  Many  persons 
-  naturally  look  on  the  dark  side  of  life,  and  borrow  trouble.  They  are  born  so. 
Then  they  ask  for  advice,  and  they  will  be  governed  by  one  wind  and  blown  by 
another,  and  cannot  rely  upon  themselves.  Until  you  can  get  so  that  you  can  rely 
upon  yourself,  you  need  not  expect  to  succeed.  I  have  known  men,  personally, 
who  have  met  with  pecuniary  reverses,  and  absolutely  committed  suicide,  because 
they  thought  they  could  never  overcome  their  misfortune.  But  I  have  known 
others  who  have  met  more  serious  financial  difficulties,  and  have  bridged  them 
over  by  simple  perseverance,  aided  by  a  firm  belief  that  they  were  doing  justly, 
and  that  Providence  would  "overcome  evil  with  good."  Yon  will  see  this 
illustrated  in  any  sphere  of  life. 

Take  two  generals;  both  understand  military  tactics,  both  educated  at  West 
Point,  if  you  please,  both  equally  gifted;  yet  one,  having  this  principle  of  perse- 
verance, and  the  other  lacking  it,  the  former  will  succeed  in  his  profession,  while 
the  latter  will  fail  One  may  hear  the  cry,  "the  enemy  are  coming,  and  they 
have  got  cannon." 

"  Got  cannon? "  says  the  hesitating  general 

"Yes." 

"  Then  halt  every  man." 

He  wants  time  to  reflect ;  his  hesitation  is  his  ruin ;  the  enemy  passes  unmolested, 
or  overwhelms  him;  while  on  the  other  hand,  the  general  of  pluck,  perseverance 
and  self-reliance,  goes  into  battle  with  a  will,  and,  amid  the  clash  of  arms,  the 
booming  of  cannon,  the  shrieks  of  the  wounded,  and  the  moans  of  the  dying,  you 
will  see  this  man  persevering,  going  on,  cutting  and  slashing  his  way  through 
with  unwavering  determination,  inspiring  his  soldiers  to  deeds  of  fortitude,  valor 
and  triumph. 

WHATEVER  YOU  DO,  DO  IT  WITH  ALL  YOUR  MIGHT.— Work  at  it,  if  necessary, 
early  and  late,  in  season  and  out  of  season,  not  leaving  a  stone  unturned,  and  never 
deferring  for  a  single  hour  that  which  can  be  done  just  as  well  now.  The  old 
proverb  is  full  of  truth  and  meaning,  "Whatever  is  worth  doing  at  all,  is  worth 
doing  well"  Many  a  man  acquires  a  fortune  by  doing  his  business  thoroughly, 
while  his  neighbor  remains  poor  for  lif e,  because  he  only  half  does  it.  Ambition, 
energy,  industry,  perseverance,  are  indispensable  requisites  for  success  in  business. 

Fortune  always  favors  the  brave,  and  never  helps  a  man  who  does  not  help 
himself.  It  won't  do  to  spend  your  time  like  Mr.  Micawber,  in  waiting  for  some- 
thing to  "turn  up."  To  such  men  one  of  two  things  usually  "turns  up:"  the 
poor-house  or  the  jail;  for  idleness  breeds  bad  habits,  and  clothes  a  man  in  rags. 
The  poor  spendthrift  vagabond  said  to  a  rich  man: 

"  I  have  discovered  there  is  money  enough  in  the  world  for  all  of  us,  if  it  was 
equally  divided;  this  must  be  done,  and  we  shall  all  be  happy  together." 


178  THE  ART  OF  MONEY-GETTING. 

"  But."  was  the  response,  "  if  everybody  was  like  you,  it  would  be  spent  in  two 
months,  and  what  would  you  do  then? " 

"  Ohl  divide  again;  keep  dividing,  of  course! " 

I  was  recently  reading  in  a  London  paper  an  account  of  a  like  philosophic 
pauper  who  was  kicked  out  of  a  cheap  boarding-house  because  he  could  not  pay 
his  bill,  but  he  had  a  roll  of  papers  sticking  out  of  his  coat  pocket,  which,  upon 
examination,  proved  to  be  his  plan  for  paying  off  the  national  debt  of  England 
without  the  aid  of  a  penny.  People  have  got  to  do  as  Cromwell  said:  "  not  only 
trust  in  Providence,  but  keep  the  powder  dry."  Do  your  part  of  the  work,  or 
you  cannot  succeed.  Mahomet,  one  night,  while  encamping  in  the  desert,  over- 
heard one  of  his  fatigued  followers  remark:  "  I  will  loose  my  camel,  and  trust  it 
to  God."  "No,  no,  not  so,"  said  the  prophet,  "tie  thy  camel,  and  trust  it  to 
God!"  Do  all  you  can  for  yourselves,  and  then  trust  to  Providence,  or  luck,  or 
whatever  you  please  to  call  it,  for  the  rest. 

DEPEND  UPON  YOUR  OWN  PERSONAL  EXERTIONS. — The  eye  of  the  employer 
is  often  worth  more  than  the  hands  of  a  dozen  employees.  In  the  nature  of  things, 
an  agent  cannot  be  so  faithful  to  his  employer  as  to  himself.  Many  who  are  em- 
ployers will  call  to  mind  instances  where  the  best  employees  have  overlooked 
important  points  which  could  not  have  escaped  their  own  observation  as  a  pro- 
prietor. No  man  has  a  right  to  expect  to  succeed  in  life  unless  he  understands 
his  business,  and  nobody  can  understand  his  business  thoroughly  unless  he  learns 
it  by  personal  application  and  experience.  A  man  may  be  a  manufacturer ;  he 
has  got  to  learn  the  many  details  of  his  business  personally;  he  will  learn  some- 
thing every  day,  and  he  will  find  he  will  make  mistakes  nearly  every  day.  And 
these  very  mistakes  are  helps  to  him  in  the  way  of  experiences  if  he  but  heeds 
them.  He  will  be  like  the  Yankee  tin-peddler,  who,  having  been  cheated  as  to 
quality  in  the  purchase  of  his  merchandise,  said:  "All  right,  there's  a  little  infor- 
mation to  be  gained  every  day;  I  will  never  be  cheated  in  that  way  again."  Thus 
a  man  buys  his  experience,  and  it  is  the  best  kind  if  not  purchased  at  too  dear  a 
rate. 

I  hold  that  every  man  should,  like  Cuvier,  the  French  naturalist,  thoroughly 
know  his  business.  So  proficient  was  he  in  the  study  of  natural  history,  that 
you  might  bring  to  him  the  bone,  or  even  a  section  of  a  bone  of  an  animal  which 
he  had  never  seen  described,  and,  reasoning  from  analogy,  he  would  be  able  to 
draw  a  picture  of  the  object  from  which  the  bone  had  been  taken.  On  one 
occasion  his  students  attempted  to  deceive  him.  They  rolled  one  of  their  number 
in  a  cow  skin  and  put  him  under  the  professor's  table  as  a  new  specimen.  When 
the  philosopher  came  into  the  room,  some  of  the  students  asked  him  what  aitimal 
it  was.  Suddenly  the  animal  said  "I  am  the  devil  and  I  am  going  to  eat  you.'' 
It  was'  but  natural  that  Cuvier  should  desire  to  classify  this  creature,  and,  exam 
ining  it  intently,  he  said: 

"Divided  hoof ;  graminivorous!  it  cannot  be  done." 

He  knew  that  an  a.nima.1  -with  a  split  hoof  must  live  upon  grass  and  grain,  or 
other  kind  of  vegetation,  and  would  not  be  inclined  to  eat  flesh,  dead  or  alive,  so 
he  considered  himself  perfectly  safe.  The  possession  6f  a  perfect  knowledge  of 
your  business  is  an  absolute  necessity  in  order  to  insure  success. 

Among  the  maxims  of  the  elder  Rothschild  was  one,  an  apparent  paradox:  "  Be 
cautious  and  bold."  This  seems  to  be  a  contradiction  in  terms,  but  it  is  not,  and 
there  is  great  wisdom  in  the  maxim.  It  is,  in  fact,  a  condensed  statement  of 
what  I  have  already  said.  It  is  to  say,  "you  must  exercise  your  caution  in  laying 
vour  plans,  but  be  bold  in  carrying  them  out."  A  man  who  is  all  caution,  will 


THE  ART  OF  MONEY-GETTING.  1?J) 

never  dare  to  take  hold  and  be  successful,  and  a  man  who  is  all  boldness,  is 
merely  reckless,  and  must  eventually  fail.  A  man  may  go  on  '"change"  and 
make  fifty  or  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  in  speculating  in  stocks,  at  a  single 
operation.  But  if  he  has  simple  boldness  without  caution,  it  is  mere  chance,  and 
what  he  gains  to-day  he  will  lose  to-morrow.  You  must  have  both  the  caution 
and  the  boldness,  to  insure  success. 

The  Rothschilds  have  another  maxim ;  "Never  have  anything  to  do  with  an 
unlucky  man  or  place."  That  is  to  say,  never  have  Anything  to  do  with  a  man 
or  place  which  never  succeeds,  because,  although  a  man  may  appear  to  be  honest 
and  intelligent,  yet  if  he  tries  this  or  that  thing  and  always  fails,  it  is  on  account 
of  some  fault  or  infirmity  that  you  may  not  be  able  to  discover,  but  nevertheless 
which  must  exist. 

There  is  no  such  thing  in  the  world  as  luck.  There  never  was  a  man  who  could 
go  out  in  the  morning  and  find  a  purse  full  of  gold  in  the  street  to-day,  and 
another  to-morrow,  and  so  on,  day  after  day.  He  may  do  so  once  in  his  life; 
but  so  far  as  mere  luck  is  concerned,  he  is  as  liable  to  lose  it  as  to  find  it.  "  Like 
causes  produce  like  effects."  If  a  man  adopts  the  proper  methods  to  be  successful, 
"luck"  will  not  prevent  him.  If  he  does  not  succeed,  there  are  reasons  for  it, 
although,  perhaps,  he  may  not  be  able  to  see  them. 

USE  THE  BEST  TOOLS. — Men  in  engaging  employees  should  be  careful  to  get 
the  best.  Understand,  you  cannot  have  too  good  tools  to  work  with,  and  there 
is  no  tool  you  should  be  so  particular  about  as  living  tools.  If  you  get  a  good 
one,  it  is  better  to  keep  him,  than  keep  changing.  He  learns  something  every 
day,  and  you  are  benefited  by  the  experience  he  acquires.  He  is  worth  more  to 
you  this  year  than  last,  and  he  is  the  last  man  to  part  with,  provided  his  habits 
are  good,  and  he  continues  faithful.  If,  as  he  gets  more  valuable,  he  demands 
an  exorbitant  increase  of  salary,  on  the  supposition  that  you  can't  do  without  him, 
let  him  go.  Whenever  I  have  such  an  employee,  I  always  discharge  him;  first,  to 
convince  him  that  his  place  may  be  supplied,  and  second,  because  he  is  good  for 
nothing  if  he  thinks  he  is  invaluable  and  cannot  be  spared. 

But  I  would  keep  him,  if  possible,  in  order  to  profit  from  the  result  of  his 
experience.  An  important  element  in  an  employee  is  the  brain.  You  can  see 
Dills  up,  "  Hands  Wanted,"  but  "hands"  are  not  worth  a  great  deal  without 
" heads."  Mr.  Beecher  illustrates  this,  in  this  wise: 

An  employee  offers  his  services  by  saying,  "I  have  a  pair  of  hands  and  one 
of  my  fingers  thinks."  "  That  is  very  good,"  says  the  employer.  Another  man 
comes  along,  and  says  "he  has  two  fingers  that  think."  "Ah!  that  is  better." 
But  a  third  calls  in  and  says  that  "all  his  fingers  and  thumbs  think,"  That  is 
better  still.  Finally  another  steps  in,  and  says,  "I  have  a  brain  that  thinks;  1 
think  all  over;  I  am  a  thinking  as  well  as  a  working  man!"  "  You  are  the  man 
I  want,"  says  the  delighted  employer. 

Those  men  who  have  brains  and  experience  are  therefore  the  most  valuable 
and  not  to  be  readily  parted  with;  it  is  better  for  them,  as  well  as  yourself,  to 
keep  them,  at  reasonable  advances  in  their  salaries  from  time  to  time. 

DON'T  GET  ABOVE  YOUR  BUSINESS.— Young  men  after  they  get  through  their 
business  training,  or  apprenticeship,  instead  of  pursuing  their  avocation  and 
rising  in  their  business,  will  often  lie  about  doing  nothing.  They  say,  "  I  have 
learned  my  business,  but  I  am  not  going  to  be  a  hireling;  whab  is  the  object  of 
learning  my  trade  or  profession,  unless  I  establish  myself  ?" 

"  Have  you  capital  to  start  with?" 

"  No,  but  I  am  going  to  have  it." 


180  THE  ART  OF  MONET-GETTING. 

"  How  are  you  going  to  get  it?" 

"I  will  tell  you  confidentially;  I  have  a  wealthy  old  aunt,  and  she  will  die 
pretty  soon;  but  if  she  does  not,  I  expect  to  find  some  rich  old  man  who  will  lend 
me  a  few  thousands  to  give  me  a  start.  If  I  only  get  the  money  to  start  with  I 
will  do  well" 

There  is  no  greater  mistake  than  when  a  young  man  believes  he  will  succeed 
with  borrowed  money.  Why?  Because  every  man's  experience  coincides  with 
that  of  Mr.  Astor,  who  said,  "it  was  more  difficult  for  him  to  accumulate  Ms  first 
thousand  dollars,  than  all  the  succeeding  millions  that  made  up  his  colossal  for- 
tune." Money  is  good  for  nothing  unless  you  know  the  value  of  it  by  experience. 
Give  a  boy  twenty  thousand  dollars  and  put  him  in  business,  and  the  chances  are 
that  he  will  lose  every  dollar  of  it  before  he  is  a  year  older.  Like  buying  a  ticket 
in  the  lottery,  and  drawing  a  prize,  it  is  "easy  come,  easy  go."  He  does  not 
know  the  value  of  it;  nothing  is  worth  anything,  unless  it  costs  effort.  Without 
self-denial  and  economy,  patience  and  perseverance,  and  commencing  with  capital 
which  you  have  not  earned,  you  are  not  sure  to  succeed  in  accumulating.  Young 
men,  instead  of  "  waiting  for  dead  men's  shoes,"  should  be  up  and  doing,  for  there 
is  no  class  of  persons  who  are  so  unaccommodating  in  regard  to  dying  as  these 
rich  old  people,  and  it  is  fortunate  for  the  expectant  heirs  that  it  is  so.  Nine  out 
of  ten  of  the  rich  men  of  our  country  to-day,  started  out  in  life  as  poor  boys, 
with  determined  wills,  industry,  perseverance,  economy  and  good  habits.  They 
went  on  gradually,  made  their  own  money  and  saved  it;  and  this  is  the  best  way 
to  acquire  a  fortune.  Stephen  Girard  started  life  as  a  poor  cabin  boy,  and  died 
worth  nine  million  dollars.  A.  T.  Stewart  was  a  poor  Irish  boy;  now  he  pays 
taxes  on  a  million  and  a  half  dollars  of  income,  per  year.  John  Jacob  Astor  was 
a  poor  farmer  boy,  and  died  worth  twenty  millions.  Cornelius  Vanderbilt  began 
life  rowing  a  boat  from  Staten  Island  to  New  York;  now  he  presents  our  govern- 
ment with  a  steamship  worth  a  million  of  dollars,  and  he  is  worth  fifty  millions. 
"There  is  no  royal  road  to  learning,"  says  the  proverb,  and  I  may  say  it  is 
equally  true,  "there  is  no  royal  road  to  wealth."  But  I  think  there  is  a  royal 
road  to  both.  The  road  to  learning  is  a  royal  one ;  the  road  that  enables  the 
student  to  expand  his  intellect  and  add  every  day  to  his  stock  of  knowledge, 
until,  in  the  pleasant  process  of  intellectual  growth,  he  is  able  to  solve  the  most 
profound  problems,  to  count  the  stars,  to  analyze  every  atom  of  the  globe,  and  to 
measure  the  firmament — this  is  a  regal  highway,  and  it  is  the  only  road  worth 
traveling. 

So  in  regard  to  wealth.  Go  on  in  confidence,  study  the  rules,  and  above  all 
things,  study  human  nature;  for  "the  proper  study  of  mankind  is  man,"  and 
you  will  find  that  while  expanding  the  intellect  and  the  muscles,  your  enlarged 
experience  will  enable  you  every  day  to  accumulate  more  and  more  principal, 
•vhich  will  increase  itself  by  interest  and  otherwise,*until  you  arrive  at  a  state  of 
independence.  You  will  find,  as  a  general  thing,  that  the  poor  boys  get  rich  and 
the  rich  boys  get  poor.  For  instance,  a  rich  man  at  his  decease,  leaves  a  large 
estate  to  his  family.  His  eldest  sons,  who  have  helped  him  earn  his  fortune,  know 
by  experience  the  value  of  money,  and  they  take  their  inheritance  and  add  to  it. 
The  separate  portions  of  the  young  children  are  placed  at  interest,  and  the  little 
fellows  are  patted  on  the  head,  and  told  a  dozen  times  a  day,  "  you  are  rich;  you 
will  never  have  to  work,  you  can  always  have  whatever  you  wish,  for  you  were 
born  with  a  golden  spoon  in  your  mouth."  The  young  heir  soon  finds  out  what 
that  means;  he  has  the  finest  dresses  and  playthings;  he  is  crammed  with  sugar 
candies  and  almost  "  killed  with  kindness,"  and  he  passes  from  school  to  school, 


THE  ART  OF  MONEY-GETTING.  181 

petted  and  flattered.  He  becomes  arrogant  and  self-conceited,  abuses  his  teachers, 
and  carries  everything  with  a  high  hand.  He  knows  nothing  of  the  real  value  of 
money,  having  never  earned  any;  but  he  knows  all  about  the  "  golden  spoon  " 
business.  At  college,  he  invites  his  poor  fellow-students  to  his  room,  where  he 
"  wines  and  dines  "  them.  He  is  cajoled  and  caressed,  and  called  a  glorious  good 
fellow,  because  he  is  so  lavish  of  his  money.  He  gives  his  game  suppers,  drives  his 
fast  horses,  invites  his  chums  to  fetes  and  parties,  determined  to  have  lots  of 
"good  times."  He  spends  the  night  in  frolics  and  debauchery,  and  leads  off  his 
companions  with  the  familiar  song,  "  we  won't  go  home  till  morning."  He  gets 
them  to  join  him  in  pulling  down  signs,  taking  gates  from  their  hinges  and  throw- 
ing them  into  back  yards  and  horse-ponds.  If  the  police  arrest  them,  he  knocks 
them  down,  is  taken  to  the  lock-up,  and  joyfully  foots  the  bills. 

"Ah!  my  boys,"  he  cries,  "what  is  the  use  of  being  rich,  if  you  can't  enjoy 
yourself?"  t  « 

He  might  more  truly  say,  "if  you  cant  make  a  fool  of  yourself;"  but  he  is 
"fast,"  hates  slow  things,  and  don't  "see  it."  Young  men  loaded  down  with 
other  people's  money  are  almost  sure  to  lose  all  they  inherit,  and  they  acquire  all 
sorts  of  bad  habits  which,  in  the  majority  of  cases,  ruin  them  in  health,  purse 
and  character.  In  this  country,  one  generation  follows  another,  and  the  poor  of 
to-day  are  rich  in  the  next  generation,  or  the  third.  Their  experience  leads  them 
on,  and  they  become  rich,  and  they  leave  vast  riches  to  their  young  children. 
These  children,  having  been  reared  in  luxury,  are  inexperienced  and  get  poor; 
and  after  long  experience  another  generation  comes  on  and  gathers  up  riches 
again  in  turn.  And  thus  "  history  repeats  itself,"  and  happy  is  he  who  by  listen- 
ing to  the  experience  of  others  avoids  the  rocks  and  shoals  on  which  so  many 
have  been  wrecked. 

"In  England,  the  business  makes  the  man."  If  a  man  in  that  country  is  a 
mechanic  or  working-man,  he  is  not  recognized  as  a  gentleman.  On  the  occasion 
of  my  first  appearance  before  Queen  Victoria,  the  Duke  of  Wellington  asked  me 
what  sphere  in  life  General  Tom  Thumb's  parents  were  in. 

"  His  father  is  a  carpenter,"  I  replied. 

"  Oh!  I  had  heard  he  was  a  gentleman,"  was  the  response  of  His  Grace. 

In  this  Republican  country,  the  man  makes  the  business.  No  matter  whether 
he  is  a  blacksmith,  a  shoemaker,  a  farmer,  banker  or  lawyer,  so  long  as  his  busi- 
ness is  legitimate,  he  may  be  a  gentleman.  So  any  "  legitimate  "  business  is  a 
double  blessing — it  helps  the  man  engaged  in  it,  and  also  helps  others.  The 
farmer  supports  his  own  family,  but  he  also  benefits  the  merchant  or  mechanic 
who  needs  the  products  of  his  farm.  The  tailor  not  only  makes  a  living  by  his 
trade,  but  he  also  benefits  the  farmer,  the  clergyman  and  others  who  cannot 
make  their  own  clothing.  But  all  these  classes  of  men  may  be  gentlemen. 

The  great  ambition  should  be  to  excel  all  others  engaged  in  the  same  occupation. 

The  college-student  who  was  about  graduating,  said  to  an  old  lawyer: 

"I  have  not  yet  decided  which  prof ession  I  will  follow.  Is  your  profession 
full?" 

"  The  basement  is  much  crowded,  but  there  is  plenty  of  room  up-stairs,"  was 
the  witty  and  truthful  reply. 

No  profession,  trade,  or  calling,  is  overcrowded  in  the  upper  story.  Wherever 
you  find  the  most  honest  and  intelligent  merchant  or  banker,  or  the  best  lawyer, 
the  best  doctor,  the  best  clergyman,  the  best  shoemaker,  carpenter,  or  anything 
else,  that  man  is  most  sought  for,  and  has  always  enough  to  do.  As  a  nation, 
Americans  are  too  superficial — they  are  striving  to  get  rich  quickly,  and  do  not 


182  THE  ART  OF  MONEY-GETTING. 

generally  do  their  business  as  substantially  and  thoroughly  as  they  should,  but 
whoever  excels  all  others  in  bis  own  line,  if  his  habits  are  good  and  his  integrity 
undoubted,  cannot  fail  to  secure  abundant  patronage,  and  the  wealth  that  natu- 
rally follows.  Let  your  motto  then  always  be  "  Excelsior,"  for  by  living  up  to  it 
there  is  no  such  word  as  fail 

LEARN  SOMETHING  USEFUL. — Every  man  should  make  his  son  or  daughter 
learn  some  trade  or  profession,  so  that  in  these  days  of  changing  fortunes — of 
being  rich  to-day  and  poor  to-morrow — they  may  have  something  tangible  to  fall 
back  upon.  This  provision  might  save  many  persons  from  misery,  who  by  some 
unexpected  turn  of  fortune  have  lost  all  their  means. 

LET  HOPE  PREDOMINATE,  BUT  BE  NOT  TOO  VISIONARY. — Many  persons  are 
always  kept  poor,  because  they  are  too  visionary.  Every  project  looks  to  them 
like  certain  success,  and  therefore  they  keep  changing  from  one  business  to 
anotfier,  always  in  hot  water,  always  "under  the  harrow."  The  plan  of  "counfr- 
ing  the  chickens  before  they  are  hatched  "  is  an  error  of  ancient  date,  but  it  does 
not  seem  to  improve  by  age. 

Do  NOT  SCATTER  YOUR  POWERS. — Engage  in  one  kind  of  business  only,  and 
stick  to  it  faithfully  until  you  succeed,  or  until  your  experience  shows  that  you 
should  abandon  it.  A  constant  hammering  on  one  nail  will  generally  drive  it 
home  at  last,  so  that  it  can  be  clinched.  When  a  man's  undivided  attention  is 
centered  on  one  object,  his  mind  will  constantly  be  suggesting  improvements  of 
value,  which  would  escape  him  if  his  brain  was  occupied  by  a  dozen  different 
subjects  at  once.  Many  a  fortune  has  slipped  through  a  man's  fingers  because  he 
was  engaged  in  too  many  occupations  at  a  time.  There  is  good  sense  in  the  old 
caution  against  having  too  many  irons  in  the  fire  at  once. 

BE  SYSTEMATIC. — Men  should  be  systematic  in  their  business.  A  person  who 
does  business  by  rule,  having  a  time  and  place  for  everything,  doing  his  work 
promptly,  will  accomplish  twice  as  much  and  with  half  the  trouble  of  him  who 
does  it  carelessly  and  slipshod.  By  introducing  system  into  all  your  transac- 
tions, doing  one  thing  at  a  time,  always  meeting  appointments  with  punctuality, 
you  find  leisure  for  pastime  and  recreation;  whereas  the  man  who  only  half  does 
one  thing,  and  then  turns  to  something  else,  and  half  does  that,  will  have  his 
business  at  loose  ends,  and  will  never  know  when  his  day's  work  is  done,  for  it 
never  will  be  done.  Of  course,  there  is  a  limit  to  all  these  rules.  "We  must  try 
to  preserve  the  happy  medium,  for  there  is  such  a  thing  as  being  too  systematic. 
There  are  men  and  women,  for  instance,  who  put  away  things  so  carefully  that 
they  can  never  find  them  again.  It  is  too  much  like  the  "  red  tape"  formality 
at  Washington,  and  Mr.  Dickens'  "Circumlocution  Office," — all  theory  and  no 
result. 

When  the  "  Astor  House  "  was  first  started  in  New  York  city,  it  was  undoubt- 
edly the  best  hotel  in  the  country.  The  proprietors  had  learned  a  good  deal  in 
Europe  regarding  hotels,  and  the  landlords  were  proud  of  the  rigid  system  which 
pervaded  every  department  of  their  great  establishment.  When  twelve  o'clock 
at  night  had  arrived,  and  there  were  a  number  of  guests  around,  one  of  the 
proprietors  would  say,  "Touch  that  bell,  John;"  and  in  two  minutes  sixty  ser- 
vants, with  a  water-bucket  in  each  hand,  would  present  themselves  in  the  hall. 
"This,"  said  the  landlord,  addressing  his  guests,  "is  our  fire-bell;  it  will  show 
you  we,  are  quite  safe  here;  we  do  everything  systematically."  This  was  before 
the  Croton  water  was  introduced  into  the  city.  But  they  sometimes  carried  their 
system  too  far.  On  one  occasion,  when  the  hotel  was  thronged  with  guests,  one 
of  the  waiters  was  suddenly  indisposed,  and  although  there  were  fifty  waiters  in 


THE  ART  OF    MONEY-GETTING.  183 

the  hotel,  the  landlord  thought  he  must  have  his  full  complement,  or  bis  "sys- 
tem "  would  be  interfered  with.  Just  before  dinner-time,  he  rushed  down  stairs 
and  said.  "There  must  be  another  waiter,  I  am  one  waiter  short,  what  can  I  do?" 
He  happened  to  see  " Boots,"  the  Irishman.  "Pat,"  said  he,  "  wash  your  hands 
and  face:  take  that  white  apron  and  come  into  the  dining-room  in  five  minutes." 
Presently  Pat  appeared  as  required,  and  the  proprietor  said:  "Now  Pat,  you 
must  stand  behind  these  two  chairs,  and  wait  on  the  gentlemen  who  will  occupy 
them;  did  you  ever  act  as  a  waiter? " 
"  I  know  all  about  it,  sure,  but  I  never  did  it." 

Lake  the  Irish  pilot,  on  one  occasion  when  the  captain,  thinking  he  was  consid- 
erably out  of  his  course,  asked,  "Are  you  certain  you  understand  what  you  are 
doing? " 

Pat  replied,  "  Sure  and  I  knows  every  rock  in  the  channel." 
That  moment,  "  bang  "  thumped  the  vessel  against  a  rock. 
"  Ahl  be  jabers,  and  that  is  one  of  'em,"  continued  the  pilot.    But  to  return 
to  the  dining-room.     "Pat,"  said  the  landlord,  "here  we  do  everything  syste- 
matically.    You  must  first  give  the  gentlemen  each  a  plate  of  soup,  and  when 
they  finish  that,  ask  them  what  they  will  have  next." 
Pat  replied,  "  Ahl  an'  I  understand  parfectiy  the  vartues  of  shystem." 
Very  soon  in  came  the  guests.     The  plates  of  soup  were  placed  before  them. 
One  of  Pat's  two  gentlemen  ate  his  soup;  the  other  did  not  care  for  it.    He  said: 
"Waiter,  take  this  plate  away  and  bring  me  some  fish."    Pat  looked  at  the1 
untasted  plate  of  soup,  and  remembering  the  injunctions  of  the  landlord  in 
regard  to  "system,"  replied: 
"Not  till  ye  have  ate  yer  supe ! " 

Of  course  that  was  carrying  "  system  "  entirely  too  far. 

READ  THE  NEWSPAPERS. — Always  take  a  trustworthy  newspaper,  and  thus 
keep  thoroughly  posted  in  regard  to  the  transactions  of  the  world.  He  who  is 
without  a  newspaper  is  cut  off  from  his  species.  In  these  days  of  telegraphs  and 
steam,  many  important  inventions  and  improvements  in  every  branch  of  trade, 
are  being  made,  and  he  who  don't  consult  the  newspapers  will  soon  find  himself 
and  his  business  left  out  hi  the  cold. 

BEWARE  OF  "OUTSIDE  OPERATIONS." — We  sometimes  see  men  who  have 
obtained  f ortunes,  suddenly  become  poor.  In  many  cases,  this  arises  from  intem- 
perance, and  often  from  gaming,  and  other  bad  habits.  Frequently  it  occurs 
because  a  man  has  been  engaged  in  "outside  operations,"  of  some  sort.  When 
he  gets  rich  in  his  legitimate  business,  he  is  told  of  a  grand  speculation  where  he 
can  make  a  score  of  thousands.  He  is  constantly  flattered  by  his  friends,  who 
tell  him  that  he  is  born  lucky,  that  everything  he  touches  turns  into  gold.  Now 
if  he  forgets  that  his  economical  habits,  his  rectitude  of  conduct  and  a  personal 
attention  to  a  business  which  he  understood,  caused  his  success  hi  life,  he  will 
listen  to  the  siren  voices.  He  says: 

"  I  will  put  in  twenty  thousand  dollars.  I  have  been  lucky,  and  my  good  luck 
will  soon  bring  me  back  sixty  thousand  dollars." 

A  few  days  elapse  and  it  is  discovered  he  must  put  in  ten  thousand  dollars 
more;  soon  after  he  is  told  "it  is  all  right,"  but  certain  matters  not  foreseen, 
require  an  advance  of  twenty  thousand  dollars  more,  which  will  bring  him  a 
rich  harvest;  but  before  the  time  comes  around  to  realize,  the  bubble  bursts,  he 
loses  all  he  is  possessed  of,  and  then  he  learns  what  he  ought  to  have  known  at 
the  first,  that  however  successful  a  man  may  be  in  his  own  business,  if  he  turns 
from  that  and  engages  in  a  business  which  he  don't  understand,  he  is  liko  Sam- 


184  THE  ART  OF  MONEY-GETTING. 

son  when  shorn  of  his  locks— his  strength  has  departed,  and  he  becomes  like 
other  men. 

If  a  man  has  plenty  of  money,  he  ought  to  invest  something  in  everything  that 
appears  to  promise  success,  and  that  will  probably  benefit  mankind;  but  let  the 
sums  thus  invested  be  moderate  in  amount,  and  never  let  a  man  f  oolishly  jeop- 
ardize a  fortune  that  he  has  earned  in  a  legitimate  way,  by  investing  it  in  things 
in  which  he  has  had  no  experience. 

DON'T  INDORSE  WITHOUT  SECURITY. — I  hold  that  no  man  ought  ever  to  indorse 
a  note  or  become  security  for  any  man,  be  it  his  father  or  brother,  to  a  greater 
extent  than  he  can  afford  to  lose  and  care  nothing  about,  without  taking  good 
security.  Here  is  a  man  that  is  worth  twenty  thousand  dollars;  he  is  doing 
a  thriving  manufacturing  or  mercantile  trade;  you  are  retired  and  living  on 
your  money;  he  comes  to  you  and  says: 

"  You  are  aware  that  I  am  worth  twenty  thousand  dollars,  and  don't  owe  a 
dollar;  if  I  had  five  thousand  dollars  in  cash,  I  could  purchase  a  particular  lot  of 
goods  and  double  my  money  in  a  couple  of  months;  will  you  indorse  my  note  for 
that  amount? " 

You  reflect  that  he  is  worth  twenty  thousand  dollars,  and  you  incur  no  risk  by 
indorsing  his  note;  you  like  to  accommodate  him,  and  you  lend  your  name  with- 
out taking  the  precaution  of  getting  security.  Shortly  after,  he  shows  you  the 
note  with  your  indorsement  canceled,  and  tells  you,  probably  truly,  "that  he 
made  the  profit  that  he  expected  by  the  operation,"  you  reflect  that  you  have 
done  a  good  action,  and  the  thought  makes  you  feel  happy.  By  and  by,  the  same 
thing  occurs  again  and  you  do  it  again;  you  have  already  fixed  the  impression 
in  your  mind  that  it  is  perfectly  safe  to  indorse  his  notes  without  security. 

But  the  trouble  is,  this  man  is  getting  money  too  easily.  He  has  only  to  take 
your  note  to  the  bank,  get  it  discounted  and  take  the  cash.  He  gets  money  for 
the  time  being  without  effort;  without  inconvenience  to  himself.  Now  mark  the 
result.  He  sees  a  chance  for  speculation  outside  of  his  business.  A  temporary 
investment  of  only  $10,000  is  required.  It  is  sure  to  come  back  before  a  note  at 
the  bank  would  be  due.  He  places  a  note  for  that-amount  before  you.  You  sign 
it  almost  mechanically.  Being  firmly  convinced  that  your  friend  is  responsible 
and  trustworthy,  you  indorse  his  notes  as  a  "matter  of  course." 

Unfortunately  the  speculation  does  not  come  to  a  head  quite  so  soon  as  was 
expected,  and  another  $10,000  note  must  be  discounted  to  take  up  the  last  one 
when  due.  Before  this  note  matures  the  speculation  has  proved  an  utter  failure 
and  all  the  money  is  lost.  Does  the  loser  tell  his  friend,  the  indorser,  that  he  has 
lost  half  of  his  fortune?  Not  at  alL  He  don't  even  mention  that  he  has  specu- 
lated at  all  But  he  has  got  excited;  the  spirit  of  speculation  has  seized  him;  he 
sees  others  making  large  sums  in  this  way  (we  seldom  hear  of  the  losers),  and,  like 
other  speculators,  he  "looks  for  his  money  where  he  loses  it."  He  tries  again. 
Indorsing  notes  has  become  chronic  with  you,  and  at  every  loss  he  gets  your 
signature  for  whatever  amount  he  wants.  Finally  you  discover  your  friend  has 
lost  all  of  his  property  and  all  of  yours.  You  are  overwhelmed  with  astonish- 
ment and  grief,  and  you  say  "  it  is  a  hard  thing;  my  friend  here  has  ruined  me," 
but,  you  should  add,  "  I  have  also  ruined  him."  If  you  had  said  in  the  first  place, 
"  I  will  accommodate  you,  but  I  never  indorse  without  taking  ample  security," 
he  could  not  have  gone  beyond  the  length  of  his  tether,  and  he  would  never  have 
been  tempted  away  from  his  legitimate  business.  It  is  a  very  dangerous  thing, 
therefore,  at  any  time,  to  let  people  get  possession  of  money  too  easily;  it  tempts 
them  to  hazardous  speculations,  if  nothing  more.  Solomon  truly  said  "he  that 
hateth  suretiship  is  sure." 


THE  ART  OF  MONEY-GETTING.  185 

So  with  the  young  man  starting  in  business ;  let  him  understand  the  value  of 
money  by  earning  it.  When  he  does  understand  its  value,  then  grease  the  wheels 
a  little  in  helping  him  to  start  business,  but  remember,  men  who  get  money  with 
too  great  facility,  cannot  usually  succeed.  You  must  get  the  first  dollars  by  hard 
knocks,  and  at  some  sacrifice,  in  order  to  appreciate  the  value  of  those  dollars. 

ADVERTISE  YOUR  BUSINESS. — We  all  depend,  more  or  less,  upon  the  public  for 
our  support.  We  all  trade  with  the  public — lawyers,  doctors,  shoemakers,  artists, 
blacksmiths,  showmen,  opera  singers,  railroad  presidents,  and  college  professors. 
Those  who  deal  with  the  public  must  be  careful  that  their  goods  are  valuable; 
that  they  are  genuine,  and  will  give  satisfaction.  When  you  get  an  article  which 
you  know  is  going  to  please  your  customers,  and  that  when  they  nave  tried  it, 
they  will  feel  they  have  got  their  money's  worth,  then  let  the  fact  be  known  that 
you  have  got  it.  Be  careful  to  advertise  it  in  some  shape  or  other,  because  it  is 
evident  that  if  a  man  has  ever  so  good  an  article  for  sale,  and  nobody  knows  it, 
it  will  bring  him  no  return.  In  a  country  like  this,  where  nearly  everybody 
reads,  and  where  newspapers  are  issued  and  circulated  in  editions  of  five  thousand 
to  two  hundred  thousand,  it  would  be  very  unwise  if  this  channel  was  not  taken 
advantage  of  to  reach  the  public  in  advertising.  A  newspaper  goes  into  the 
family,  and  is  read  by  wife  and  children,  as  well  as  the  head  of  the  house;  hence 
hundreds  and  thousands  of  people  may  read  your  advertisement,  while  you  are 
attending  to  your  routine  business.  Many,  perhaps,  read  it  while  you  are  asleep. 
The  whole  philosophy  of  life  is,  first  "sow,"  then  "  reap."  That  is  the  way  the 
farmer  does;  he  plants  his  potatoes  and  corn,  and  sows  his* grain,  and  then  goes 
about  something  else,  and  the  time  comes  when  he  reaps.  But  he  never  reaps 
first  and  sows  af  terwards.  This  principle  applies  to  all  kinds  of  business,  and  to 
nothing  more  eminently  than  to  advertising.  If  a  man  has  a  genuine  article, 
there  is  no  way  in  which  he  can  reap  more  advantageously  than  by  "sowing"  to 
the  public  in  this  way.  He  must,  of  course,  have  a  really  good  article,  and  one 
which  will  please  his  customers;  anything  spurious  will  not  succeed  permanently, 
because  the  public  is  wiser  than  many  imagine.  Men  and  women  are  selfish,  and 
we  all  prefer  purchasing  where  we  can  get  the  most  for  our  money;  and  we  try 
to  find  out  where  we  can  most  surely  do  so. 

You  may  advertise  a  spurious  article,  and  induce  many  people  to  call  and  buy 
it  once,  but  they  will  denounce  you  as  an  impostor  and  swindler,  and  your 
business  will  gradually  die  out  and  leave  you  poor.  This  is  right.  Pew  people 
can  safely  depend  upon  chance  custom.  You  all  need  to  have  your  customers 
return  and  purchase  again.  A  man  said  to  me,  "  I  have  tried  advertising  and 
did  not  succeed;  yet  I  have  a  good  article." 

I  replied,  "  My  friend,  there  may  be  exceptions  to  a  general  rule.  But  how  do 
you  advertise?" 

"  I  put  it  in  a  weekly  newspaper  tnree  times,  and  paid  a  dollar  and  a  half  for  it." 

I  replied:  "  Sir,  advertising  is  like  learning — '  a  little  is  a  dangerous  thing  I' " 

A  French  writer  says  that  "  The  reader  of  a  newspaper  does  not  see  the  first 
insertion  of  an  ordinary  advertisement;  the  second  insertion  he  sees,  but  does  not 
read;  the  third  insertion  he  reads;  the  fourth  insertion,  he  looks  at  the  price;  the 
fifth  insertion,  he  speaks  of  it  to  his  wife;  the  sixth  insertion,  he  is  ready  to  pur- 
chase, and  the  seventh  insertion,  he  purchases."  Your  object  in  advertising  is  to 
make  the  public  understand  what  you  have  got  to  sell,  and  if  you  have  not  the 
pluck  to  keep  advertising,  until  you  have  imparted  that  information,  all  the 
money  you  have  spent  is  lost.  You  are  like  the  fellow  who  told  the  gentleman  if 
he  would  give  him  ten  cents  it  would  save  him  a  dollar.  "  How  can  I  help  you 


186  THE  ART  OF  MCXNEY-GETTINQ. 

so  much  with  so  small  a  sum? "  asked  the  gentleman  in  surprise.  "  1  started  out 
this  morning  (hiccupped  the  fellow)  with  the  full  determination  to  get  drunk,  and 
I  have  spent  my  only  dollar  to  accomplish  the  object,  and  it  has  not  quite  done 
it.  Ten  cents  worth  more  of  whisky  would  just  do  it,  and  in  this  manner  I  should 
save  the  dollar  already  expended." 

So  a  man  who  advertises  at  all  must  keep  it  up  until  the  public  know  who  and 
what  he  is,  and  what  his  business  is,  or  else  the  money  invested  in  advertising  is 
lost. 

Some  men  have  a  peculiar  genius  for  writing  a  striking  advertisement,  one  that 
will  arrest  the  attention  of  the  reader  at  first  sight.  This  tact,  of  course,  gives 
the  advertiser  a  great  advantage.  Sometimes  a  man  makes  himself  popular  by 
an  unique  sign  or  a  curious  display  in  his  window.  Recently  I  observed  a  swing 
sign  extending  over  the  sidewalk  in  front  of  a  store,  on  which  was  the  inscription 
in  plain  letters, 

"DON'T  READ  THE  OTHER  SIDE." 

Of  course  I  did,  and  so  did  everybody  else,  and  I  learned  that  the  man  had 
made  an  independence  by  first  attracting  the  public  to  his  business  in  that  way 
and  then  using  his  customers  well  afterwards. 

Genin,  the  hatter,  bought  the  first  Jenny  Land  ticket  at  auction  for  two  hundred 
and  twenty-five  dollars,  because  he  knew  it  would  be  a  good  advertisement  for 
him,  "Who  is  the  bidder?"  said  the  auctioneer,  as  he  knocked  down  that  ticket 
at  Castle  Garden.  "43«nin,  the  hatter,"  was  the  response.  Here  were  thousands 
of  people  from  the  Fifth  avenue,  and  from  distant  cities  in  the  highest  stations 
in  life.  "Who  is  'Genin,'  the  hatter?"  they  exclaimed.  They  had  never  heard 
of  him  before.  The  next  morning  the  newspapers  and  telegraph  had  circulated 
the  facts  from  Maine  to  Texas,  and  from  five  to  ten  millions  of  people  had  read  that 
the  tickets  sold  at  auction  for  Jenny  Lind's  first  concert  amounted  to  about  twenty 
thousand  dollars,  and  that  a  single  ticket  was  sold  at  two  hundred  and  twenty-five 
dollars,  to  "Genin,  the  hatter."  Men  throughout  the  country  involuntarily  took 
off  their  hats  to  see  if  they  had  a  "Genin"  hat  on  their  heads.  At  a  town  in 
Iowa  it  was  found  that  in  the  crowd  around  the  post-office,  there  was  one  man 
who  had  a  "  Genin  "  hat,  and  he  showed  it  in  triumph,  although  it  was  worn  out 
and  not  worth  two  cents.  "Why,"  one  man  exclaimed,  "you  have  a  real 
'Genin'  hat;  what  a  lucky  fellow  you  are."  Another  man  said,  "Hang  on  to 
that  hat,  it  will  be  a  valuable  heir-loom  in  your  family."  Still  another  man  in 
the  crowd,  who  seemed  to  envy  the  possessor  of  this  good  fortune,  said,  "  Come, 
give  us  all  a  chance ;  put  it  up  at  auction ! "  He  did  so,  and  it  was  sold  as  a  keep- 
sake for  nine  dollars  and  fifty  cents?  What  was  the  consequence  to  Mr.  Genin' 
He  sold  ten  thousand  extra  hats  per  annum,  the  first  six  years.  Nine-tenths  of 
the  purchasers  bought  of  him,  probably,  out  of  curiosity,  and  many  of  them, 
finding  that  he  gave  them  an  equivalent  for  their  money,  became  his  regular 
customers.  This  novel  advertisement  first  struck  their  attention,  and  then,  as  he 
made  a  good  article,  they  came  again. 

Now,  I  don't  say  that  everbody  should  advertise  as  Mr.  Genin  did.  But  I  say 
if  a  man  has  got  goods  for  sale,  and  he  don't  advertise  them  in  some  way,  the 
chances  are  that  some  day  the  sheriff  will  do  it  for  him.  Nor  do  I  say  that 
everybody  must  advertise  in  a  newspaper,  or  indeed  use  "printers'  ink"  at  alL 
On  the  contrary,  although  that  article  is  indispensable  in  the  majority  of  cases, 
yet  doctors  and  clergymen,  and  sometimes  lawyers  and  some  others,  can  more 
effectually  reach  the  public  in  some  other  manner.  But  it  is  obvious,  they  must 
be  known  in  some  way,  else  how  could  they  be  supported? 


THE  ART  OP  MONEY-GETTING.  187 

BE  POLITE  AND  KIND  To  YOUR  CUSTOMERS. — Politeness  and  civility  are  the 
best  capital  ever  invested  in  business.  Large  stores,  gilt  signs,  flaming  adver- 
tisements, will  all  prove  unavailing  if  you  or  your  employees  treat  your  patrons 
abruptly.  The  truth  is,  the  more  kind  and  liberal  a  man  is,  the  more  generous 
will  be  the  patronage  bestowed  upon  him.  "  Lake  begets  like."  The  man  who 
gives  the  greatest  amount  of  goods  of  a  corresponding  quality  for  the  least  sum 
(still  reserving  to  himself  a  profit)  will  generally  succeed  best  in  the  long  run. 
This  brings  us  to  the  golden  rule,  "  As  ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do 
ye  also  to  them,"  and  they  will  do  better  by  you  than  if  you  always  treated  them 
as  if  you  wanted  to  get  the  most  you  could  out  of  them  for  the  least  return. 
Men  who  drive  sharp  bargains  with  their  customers,  acting  as  if  they  never 
expected  to  see  them  again,  will  not  be  mistaken.  They  never  will  see  them  again 
as  customers.  People  don't  like  to  pay  and  get  kicked  also. 

One  of  the  ushers  in  my  Museum  once  told  me  he  intended  to  whip  a  man  who 
was  in  the  lecture-room  as  soon  as  he  came  out. 
"What  for?"  I  inquired. 

"  Because  he  said  I  was  no  gentleman,"  replied  the  usher. 
"  Never  mind,"  I  replied,  "  he  pays  for  that,  and  you  will  not  convince  him  you 
are  a  gentleman  by  whipping  him.  I  cannot  afford  to  lose  a  customer.  If  you 
whip  him,  he  will  never  visit  the  Museum  again,  and  he  will  induce  friends  to  go 
with  him  to  other  places  of  amusement  instead  of  this,  and  thus,  you  see,  I  should 
be  a  serious  loser." 

"  But  he  insulted  me,"  muttered  the  usher. 

"Exactly,"  I  replied,  "and  if  he  owned  the  Museum,  and  you  had  paid  him 
for  the  privilege  of  visiting  it,  and  he  had  then  insulted  you,  there  might  be  some 
reason  in  your  resenting  it,  but  in  this  instance  he  is  the  man  who  pays,  while  we 
receive,  and  you  must,  therefore,  put  up  with  his  bad  manners." 

My  usher  laughingly  remarked,  that  this  was  undoubtedly  the  true  policy,  but 
he  added  that  he  should  not  object  to  an  increase  of  salary  if  he  was  expected  to 
be  abused  hi  order  to  promote  my  interests. 

BE  CHARITABLE. — Of  course  men  should  be  charitable,  because  it  is  a  duty  and 
a  pleasure.  But  even  as  a  matter  of  policy,  if  you  possess  no  higher  incentive, 
you  will  find  that  the  liberal  man  will  command  patronage,  while  the  sordid, 
uncharitable  miser  will  be  avoided. 

Solomon  says:  "  There  is  that  scattereth  and  yet  increaseth;  and  there  is  that 
withholdeth  more  than  meet,  but  it  tendeth  to  poverty."  Of  course  the  only 
true  charity  is  that  which  is  from  the  heart. 

The  best  kind  of  charity  is  to  help  those  who  are  willing  to  help  themselves. 
Promiscuous  almsgiving,  without  inquiring  into  the  worthiness  of  the  applicant, 
is  bad  in  every  sense.  But  to  search  out  and  quietly  assist  those  who  are  strug- 
gling for  themselves,  is  the  kind  that  "  scattereth  and  yet  increaseth."  But  don't 
fall  into  the  idea  that  some  persons  practice,  of  giving  a  prayer  instead  of  a 
potato,  and  a  benediction  instead  of  bread,  to  the  hungry.  It  is  easier  to  make 
Christians  with  full  stomachs  than  empty. 

DON'T  BLAB. — Some  men  have  a  foolish  habit  of  telling  then*  business  secrets. 
If  they  make  money  they  like  to  tell  their  neighbors  how  it  was  done.  Nothing 
is  gained  by  this,  and  ofttimes  much  is  lost.  Say  nothing  about  your  profits, 
your  hopes,  your  expectations,  your  intentions.  And  this  should  apply  to  letters  as 
well  as  to  conversation.  Goethe  makes  Mephistophiles  say:  "  never  write  a  letter 
uor  destroy  one."  Business  men  must  write  letters,  but  they  should  be  careful 


188  THE   ART  OF   MONEY-GETTING. 

what  they  put  in  them.    If  you  are  losing  money,  be  specially  cautious  and  not 
tell  of  it,  or  you  will  lose  your  reputation. 

PRESERVE  TOUR  INTEGRITY. — It  is  more  precious  than  diamonds  or  rubies. 
The  old  miser  said  to  his  sons:  "  (Jet  money;  get  it  honestly,  if  you  can,  but  get 
money."  This  advice  was  not  only  atrociously  wicked,  but  it  was  the  very 
essence  of  stupidity.  It  was  as  much  as  to  say,  "  if  you  find  it  difficult  to  obtain 
money  honestly,  you  can  easily  get  it  dishonestly.  Get  it  in  that  way. "  Poor  fool  I 
Not  to  know  that  the  most  difficult  thing  in  life  is  to  make  money  dishonestly! 
not  to  know  that  our  prisons  are  full  of  men  who  attempted  to  follow  this  advice; 
not  to  understand  that  no  man  can  be  dishonest,  without  soon  being  found  out, 
and  that  when  his  lack  of  principle  is  discovered,  nearly  every  avenue  to  success 
is  closed  against  him  forever.  The  public  very  properly  shun  all  whose  integrity 
is  doubted.  No  matter  how  polite  and  pleasant  and  accommodating  a  man  may 
be,  none  of  us  dare  to  deal  with  him  if  we  suspect  "false  weights  and  measures." 
Strict  honesty,  not  only  lies  at  the  foundation  of  all  success  in  life  (financially), 
but  in  every  other  respect.  Uncompromising  integrity  of  character  in  invalua- 
ble. It  secures  to  its  possessor  a  peace  and  joy  which  cannot  be  attained  without 
it — which  no  amount  of  money,  or  houses  and  lands  can  purchase.  A  man  who  is 
known  to  be  strictly  honest,  may  be  ever  so  poor,  but  he  has  the  purses  of  all  the 
community  at  his  disposal — for  all  know  that  if  he  promises  to  return  what  he 
borrows,  he  will  never  disappoint  them.  As  a  mere  matter  of  selfishness,  there- 
fore, if  a  man  had  no  higher  motive  for  being  honest,  all  will  find  that  the 
maxim  of  Dr.  Franklin  can  never  fail  to  be  true,  that  "  honesty  is  the  best 
policy." 

To  get  rich,  is  not  always  equivalent  to  being  successful.  "There  are  many 
rich  poor  men,"  while  there  are  many  others,  honest  and  devout  men  and  women, 
who  have  never  possessed  so  much  money  as  some  rich  persons  squander  in  a 
week,  but  who  are  nevertheless  really  richer  and  happier  than  any  man  can  ever 
be  while  he  is  a  transgressor  of  the  higher  laws  of  his  being. 

The  inordinate  love  of  money,  no  doubt,  may  be  and  is  "the  root  of  all  evil," 
but  money  itself,  when  properly  used,  is  not  only  a  "  handy  thing  to  have  in  the 
house,"  but  affords  the  gratification  of  blessing  our  race  by  enabling  its  possessor 
to  enlarge  the  scope  of  human  happiness  and  human  influence.  The  desire  for 
wealth  is  nearly  universal,  and  none  can  say  it  is  not  laudable,  provided  the  pos- 
sessor of  it  accepts  its  responsibilities,  and  uses  it  as  a  friend  to  humanity. 

The  history  of  money-getting,  which  is  commerce,  is  a  history  of  civilization, 
and  wherever  trade  has  flourished  most,  there,  too,  have  art  and  science  produced 
the  noblest  fruits.  In  fact,  as  a  general  thing,  money-getters  are  the  benefactors 
of  our  race.  To  them,  in  a  great  measure,  are  we  indebted  for  our  institutions  of 
learning  and  of  art,  our  academies,  colleges  and  churches.  It  is  no  argument 
against  the  desire  for,  or  the  possession  of,  wealth,  to  say  that  there  are  some- 
times misers  who  hoard  money  only  for  the  sake  of  hoarding,  and  who  have  no 
higher  aspiration  than  to  grasp  everything  which  comes  within  their  reach.  As 
we  have  sometimes  hypocrites  in  religion,  and  demagogues  in  politics,  so  there 
are  occasionally  misers  among  money-getters.  These,  however,  are  only  excep- 
tions to  the  general  rule.  But  when,  in  this  country,  we  find  such  a  nuisance 
and  stumbling  block  as  a  miser,  we  remember  with  gratitude  that  in  America 
we  have  no  laws  of  primogeniture,  and  that  in  the  due  course  of  nature  the  time 
will  come  when  the  hoarded  dust  will  be  scattered  for  the  benefit  of  mankind. 
To  all  men  and  women,  therefore,  do  I  conscientiously  say,  make  money  honestly, 
and  not  otherwise,  for  Shakespeare  has  truly  said,  "  He  that  wants  money,  means 
and  content,  is  without  three  good  friends." 


THE  ART  OF  MONEY-GETTING.  189 

Nearly  every  paper  In  London  had  something  to  say  about  my  lecture,  and  in 
almost  every  instance  the  matter  and  manner  of  the  lecturer  were  unqualifiedly 
approved.  Indeed,  the  profusion  of  praise  quite  overwhelmed  me.  The  London 
Times,  December  30,  1858,  concluded  a  half -column  criticism  with  the  following 
paragraph: 

"  We  are  bound  to  admit  that  Mr.  Burnum  is  one  of  the  most  entertaining  lecturers 
tuat  ever  addressed  an  audience  on  a  theme  universally  intelligible.  The  appearance  of 
Mr.  Barnnm,  it  should  be  added,  has  nothing  of  the  '  charlatan  '  about  it,  but  is  that  of  the 
thoroughly  respectable  man  of  business;  and  he  has  at  command  a  fund  of  dry  humor  that 
convulses  everybody  with  lauehter,  while  he  himself  remains  perfectly  serious.  A  sonor- 
ous voice  and  an  admirably  clear  delivery  complete  his  qualifications  as  a  lecturer,  in  which 
capacity  he  is  no  'humbug,'  either  in  a  higher  or  lower  sense  of  the  word." 

The  London  Morning  Post,  the  Advertiser,  the  Chronicle,  the  Telegraph,  the 
Herald,  the  Neivs,  the  Globe,  the  Sun,  and  other  lesser  journals  of  the  same  date, 
all  contained  lengthy  and  favorable  notices  and  criticisms  of  my  lecture.  My 
own  lavish  advertisements  were  as  nothing  to  the  notoriety  which  the  London 
newspapers  voluntarily  and  editorially  gave  to  my  new  enterprise.  The  weekly 
and  literary  papers  followed  in  the  train;  and  even  Punch,  which  had  already 
done  so  much  to  keep  Tom  Thumb  before  the  public,  gave  me  a  half -page  notice, 
with  an  illustration,  and  thereafter  favored  me  with  frequent  paragraphs.  The 
city  thus  prepared  the  provinces  to  give  me  a  cordial  reception. 

During  the  year  1859,  I  delivered  this  lecture  nearly  one  hundred  times  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  England,  returning  occasionally  to  London  to  repeat  it  to  fresh 
audiences,  and  always  with  pecuniary  success.  Every  provincial  paper  had 
something  to  say  about  Barnum  and  "  The  Art  of  Money-Getting,"  and  I  was 
never  more  pleasantly  or  profusely  advertised.  The  tour,  too,  made  me 
acquainted  with  many  new  people  and  added  fresh  and  fast  friends  to  my 
continually  increasing  list.  My  lecturing  season  is  among  my  most  grateful 
memories  of  England. 

Remembering  my  experiences,  some  years  before,  with  General  Tom  Thumb  at 
Oxford  and  Cambridge,  and  the  fondness  of  the  under-graduates  for  practical 
joking,  I  was  quite  prepared  when  I  made  up  my  mind  to  visit  those  two  cities, 
to  take  any  quantity  of  "chaff"  and  lampooning  which  the  University  boys 
might  choose  to  bring.  I  was  sure  of  a  full  house  in  each  city,  and  as  I  was 
anxious  to  earn  all  the  money  I  could,  so  as  to  hasten  my  deliverance  from  finan- 
cial difficulties,  I  fully  resolved  to  put  up  with  whatever  offered — indeed  I  rather 
liked  the  idea  of  an  episode  in  the  steady  run  of  praise  which  had  followed  my 
lecture  everywhere,  and  I  felt  too,  in  the  coming  encounter,  that  I  might  give 
quite  as  much  as  I  was  compelled  to  take. 

I  commenced  at  Cambridge,  and,  as  I  expected,  to  an  overflowing  house, 
largely  composed  of  under-graduates.  Soon  after  I  began  to  speak,  one  of  the 
young  men  called  out:  "  Where  is  Joice  Heth? "  to  which  I  very  coolly  replied: 

"Young  gentleman,  please  to  restrain  yourself  till  the  conclusion  of  the 
lecture,  when  I  shall  take  great  delight  in  affording  you,  or  any  others  of  her 
posterity,  all  the  information  I  possess  concerning  your  deceased  relative." 

This  reply  turned  the  laugh  against  the  youthful  and  anxious  inquirer  and  had 
the  effect  of  keeping  other  students  quiet  for  a  half  hour.  Thereafter,  questions 
of  a  similar  character  were  occasionally  propounded,  but  as  each  inquirer  gen- 
erally received  a  prompt  Roland  for  his  Oliver,  there  was  far  less  interruption 
than  I  had  anticipated.  The  proceeds  of  the  evening  were  more  than  one  hun- 
dred pounds  sterling,  an  important  addition  to  my  treasury  at  that  time.  At  the 


190  THE   ART   OF   MONEY-GETTING. 

dose  of  the  lecture,  several  students  invited  me  to  a  sumptuous  supper  where  I 
met,  among  other  under-graduates,  a  nephew  of  Lord  Macaulay,  the  historian. 
This  young  gentleman  insisted  upon  my  breakfasting  with  him  at  his  rooms  next 
morning,  but  as  I  was  anxious  to  take  an  early  train  for  London,  I  only  called  to 
leave  my  card,  and  after  his  "  gyp "  had  given  me  a  strong  cup  of  coffee,  I  has- 
tened away,  leaving  the  young  Macaulay,  whom  I  did  not  wish  to  disturb,  fast 
asleep  in  bed. 

At  Oxford  the  large  hall  was  filled  half  an  hour  before  the  time  announced  for 
the  lecture  to  begin,  and  the  sale  of  tickets  was  stopped.  I  then  stepped  upon 
the  platform,  and  said:  "  Ladies  and  gentlemen:  As  every  seat  is  occupied  and 
the  ticket-office  is  closed,  I  propose  to  proceed  with  my  lecture  now,  and  not  keep 
you  waiting  till  the  advertised  hour." 

"Good  for  you,  old  Barnum,"  said  one;  "Time  is  money,"  said  another; 
"  Nothing  like  economy,"  came  from  a  third,  and  other  remarks  and  exclama- 
tions followed,  which  excited  much  laughter  in  the  audience.  Holding  up  my 
hand  as  a  signal  that  I  was  anxious  to  say  something  so  soon  as  silence  should  be 
restored,  I  thus  addressed  my  audience: 

"  Young  gentlemen,  I  have  a  word  or  two  to  say,  in  order  that  we  may  have  a 
thorough  understanding  between  ourselves  at  the  outset.  I  see  symptoms  of  a 
pretty  jolly  time  here  this  evening,  and  you  have  paid  me  liberally  for  the  single 
hour  of  my  time  which  is  at  your  service.  I  am  an  old  traveler  and  an  old  show- 
man, and  I  like  to  please  my  patrons.  Now,  it  is  quite  immaterial  to  me ;  you  may 
furnish  the  entertainment  for  the  hour,  or  I  will  endeavor  to  do  so,  or  we  will 
take  portions  of  the  time  by  turns — you  supplying  a  part  of  the  amusement,  and 
I  a  part — as  we  say  sometimes  in  America,  '  you  pays  your  money,  and  you  takes 
your  choice.' " 

My  auditors  were  in  the  best  of  humor  from  the  beginning,  and  my  frankness 
pleased  them.  "  Good  for  you,  old  Barnum,"  cried  their  leader;  and  I  went  on 
with  my  lecture  for  some  fifteen  minutes,  when  a  voice  called  out: 

"Come,  old  chap!  you  must  be  tired  by  this  time;  hold  up  now  till  we  sing 
'  Yankee  Doodle, ' "  whereupon  they  all  joined  in  that  pleasing  air  with  a  vigor 
which  showed  that  they  had  thoroughly  prepared  themselves  for  the  occasion, 
and  meanwhile  I  took  a  chair  and  sat  down  to  show  them  that  I  was  quite  satis- 
fied with  their  manner  of  passing  the  time.  When  the  song  was  concluded,  the 
leader  of  the  party  said:  "  Now,  Mr.  Barnum,  you  may  go  ahead  again." 

I  looked  at  my  watch  and  quietly  remarked,  "Oh!  there  is  time  for  lots  of  fun 
yet;  we  have  nearly  forty  minutes  of  the  hour  remaining,"  and  I  proceeded  with 
my  lecture,  or  rather  a  lecture,  for  I  began  to  adapt  my  remarks  to  the  audience 
and  the  occasion.  At  intervals  of  ten  minutes,  or  so,  came  interruptions  which 
I,  as  my  audience  saw,  fully  enjoyed  as  much  as  the  house  did.  When  this 
miscellaneous  entertainment  was  concluded,  and  I  stopped  short  at  the  end  of  the 
hour,  crowds  of  the  young  men  pressed  forward  to  shake  hands  with  me,  declar- 
ing that  they  had  had  a  "  jolly  good  time,"  while  the  leader  said:  "  Stay  with  us 
a  week,  Barnum,  and  we  will  dine  you,  wine  you,  and  give  you  full  houses  every 
night."  But  I  was  announced  to  lecture  in  London  the  next  evening,  and  I  could 
not  accept  the  pressing  invitation,  though  I  would  gladly  have  stayed  through  the 
week.  They  asked  me  all  sorts  of  questions  about  America,  the  Museum,  my 
various  shows  and  successes,  and  expressed  the  hope  that  I  would  come  out  of 
my  clock  troubles  all  right. 

At  least  a  score  of  them  pressed  me  to  breakfast  with  them  next  morning, 
but  I  declined,  till  one  young  gentleman  put  it  on  this  purely  personal  ground: 


THE   ART   OF   MONEY-GETTING.  191 

"My  dear  sir,  you  must  breakfast  with  me;  I  have  almost  split  my  throat  in 
screaming  here  to-night,  and  it  is  only  fair  that  you  should  repay  me  by  coming 
to  see  me  in  the  morning."  This  appeal  was  irresistible,  and  at  the  appointed 
time  I  met  him  and  half  a  dozen  of  his  friends  at  his  table,  and  we  spent  a  very 
pleasant  hour  together.  They  complimented  me  on  the  tact  and  equanimity  I 
had  exhibited  the  previous  evening,  but  I  replied:  "Oh!  I  was  quite  inclined  to 
have  you  enjoy  your  fun  and  came  fully  prepared  for  it." 

But  they  liked  better,  they  said,  to  get  the  party  angry.  A  fortnight  before, 
they  told  me,  my  friend  Howard  Paul  had  left  them  in  disgust,  because  they 
insisted  upon  smoking  while  his  wife  was  on  the  stage,  adding  that  the  entertain- 
ment was  excellent,  and  that  Howard  Paul  could  have  made  a  thousand  pounds  if 
he  had  not  let  his  anger  drive  Him  away.  My  new-found  friends  parted  with  me 
at  the  railway  station,  heartily  urging  me  to  come  again,  and  my  ticket-seller 
returned  £169  as  the  immediate  result  of  an  evening's  good-natured  fun  with  the 
Oxford  boys. 

After  delivering  my  lecture  many  times  in  different  places,  a  prominent  pub- 
lishing house  in  London,  offered  me  £1,200  ($6,000),  for  the  copyright.  This  offer 
I  declined,  not  that  I  thought  the  lecture  worth  more  money,  but  because  I  had 
engaged  to  deliver  it  in  several  towns  and  cities,  and  I  thought  the  publication 
would  be  detrimental  to  the  public  delivery  of  my  lecture.  It  was  a  source  cf 
very  considerable  emolument  to  me,  bringing  in  much  money,  which  went 
towards  the  redemption  of  my  pecuniary  obligations,  so  that  the  lecture  itself 
was  an  admirable  illustration  of  "  The  Art  of  Money-Getting." 


CHAPTER  XXXll. 

AN  ENTERPRISING  ENGLISHMAN. 

WHIU:  visiting  Manchester,  in  1858,  I  was  invited  by  Mr.  Peacock,  the  lessee, 
to  deliver  a  lecture  in  "  Free  Trade  HalL"  I  gave  a  lecture,  the  title  of  which  I 
uow  forget;  but  I  well  remember  it  contained  numerous  personal  reminiscences. 
The  next  day  a  gentleman  named  John  Fish  sent  his  card  to  my  room  at  the 
hotel  where  I  was  stopping.  I  requested  the  servant  to  show  him  up  at  once,  and 
he  SOOH  appeared  and  introduced  himself.  At  first  he  seemed  somewhat  embar- 
rassed, but  gradually  broke  the  ice  by  saying  he  had  been  pleased  in  listening  to 
my  lecture  the  previous  evening,  and  added  that  he  knew  my  history  pretty  well, 
as  he  had  read  my  autobiography.  As  his  embarrassment  at  first  meeting  with 
a  stranger  wore  away,  he  inf  ormed  me  that  he  was  joint  proprietor  with  another 
gentleman  in  a  "  cotton-mill "  in  Bury,  near  Manchester,  "  although,"  he  modestly 
added,  "only  a  few  years  ago  I  was  working  as  a  journeyman,  and  probably 
should  have  been  at  this  time,  had  it  not  been  for  your  book."  Observing  my 
surprise  at  this  announcement,  he  continued: 

"The  fact  is,  Mr.  Barnum,  upon  reading  your  autobiography,  I  thought  I 
perceived  you  tried  to  make  yourself  out  something  worse  than  you  really  were ; 
for  I  discovered  a  pleasant  spirit  and  a  good  heart  under  the  rougher  exterior  in 
which  you  chose  to  present  yourself  to  the  public;  but,"  he  added,  "after  reading 
your  life  I  found  myself  in  possession  of  renewed  strength,  and  awakened  ener- 
gies and  aspirations,  and  I  said  to  myself,  '  Why  can't  I  go  ahead  and  make  money 
as  Barnum  did?  He  commenced  without  money  and  succeeded;  why  may  not 
I  ?'  In  this  train  of  thought,"  he  continued,  "  I  went  to  a  newspaper  office  and 
advertised  for  a  partner  with  money  to  join  me  in  establishing  a  cotton-mill.  I 
had  no  applications,  and,  remembering  your  experiences  when  you  had  money 
and  wanted  a  partner,  I  spent  half  a  crown  in  a  similar  experiment.  I  advertised 
for  a  partner  to  join  a  man  who  had  plenty  of  capital  Then  I  had  lots  of  appli- 
cants ready  to  introduce  me  into  all  sorts  of  occupations,  from  that  of  a  banker 
to  that  of  a  horse-jockey  or  gambler,  if  I  would  only  furnish  the  money  to  start 
with.  After  a  while,  I  advertised  again  for  a  partner,  and  obtained  one  with 
money.  We  have  a  good  mill,  I  devote  myself  closely  to  business,  and  have 
been  very  successful.  I  know  every  line  in  your  book;  so,  indeed,  do  several 
members  of  my  family;  and  I  have  conducted  my  business  on  the  principles  laid 
down  in  your  published  'Rules  for  Money-making.'  I  find  them  correct  princi- 
ples; and,  sir,  I  have  sought  this  interview  in  order  to  thank  you  for  publishing 
your  autobiography,  and  to  tell  you  that  to  that  act  of  yours  I  attribute  my 
present  position  in  life." 

Of  course,  I  was  pleased  and  surprised  at  this  revelation,  and,  feeling  that  my 
new  friend  had  somewhat  exaggerated  the  results  of  my  labors  as  influencing  his 
own,  I  said: 

"Your  statement  is  certainly  very  nattering,  and  I  am  glad  if  I  have  been  able 
in  any  manner,  through  my  experiences,  to  aid  you  in  starting  in  life;  but  I  pre- 
sume your  genius  would  have  found  vent  in  good  time  if  I  had  never  written  « 
book." 

192 


AX   ENTEllPRISINQ   ENGLISHMAN.  193 

"  No,  indeed  it  would  not,"  he  replied,  in  an  earnest  tone;  "  I  am  sure  I  should 
Lave  worked  as  a  mill-hand  all  my  life  if  it  had  not  been  for  you.  Oh,  I  have 
made  no  secret  of  it,"  he  continued;  "the  commercial  men  with  whom  I  deal 
know  all  about  it;  indeed,  they  call  me  '  Barnum '  on  'change  here  in  Manchester." 

On  one  occasion,  when  General  Tom  Thumb  exhibited  in  Bury,  Mr.  Fish  closed 
his  mill,  and  gave  each  of  his  employees  a  ticket  to  the  exhibition;  out  of  respect, 
as  he  said,  to  Barnum.  On  a  subsequent  occasion,  when  the  little  General  visited 
England  the  last  time,  Mr,  Fish  invited  him,  his  wife,  Commodore  Nutt,  Minnie 
Warren,  and  the  managers  of  "  the  show,"  to  a  splendid  and  sumptuous  dinner 
at  his  house,  which  the  distinguished  little  party  enjoyed  exceedingly. 

My  friend  Fish  expressed  himself  extremely  anxious  to  do  any  service  for  me 
which  might  at  any  time  be  in  his  power.  Soon  after  I  arrived  in  America,  I 
read  an  account  of  a  French  giant,  then  exhibiting  in  Paris,  and  said  to  be  over 
eight  feet  in  height.  As  this  was  a  considerably  greater  altitude  than  any  speci- 
men of  the  genus  homo  within  my  knowledge  had  attained,  I  wrote  to  my  friend 
Fish  to  take  a  trip  to  Paris  for  me,  secure  an  interview  with  this  modern  Anak, 
and  by  actual  measurement  obtain  for  me  his  exact  height.  I  enclosed  an  offer 
for  this  giant's  services,  arranging  the  price  on  a  sliding  scale,  according  to  what 
his  height  should  actually  prove  to  be — commencing  at  eight  feet,  and  descending 
to  seven  feet  two  inches:  and,  if  he  was  not  taller  than  the  latter  figure,  I  did  not 
want  him  at  all 

Mr.  Fish,  placing  an  English  two-foot  rule  in  his  pocket,  started  for  Paris;  and, 
after  much  difficulty  and  several  days'  delay  in  trying  to  speak  with  the  giant, 
who  was  closely  watched  by  his  exhibitor,  succeeded  in  appointing  an  interview 
at  the  giant's  lodgings.  And  now  came  a  trouble  which  required  all  the  patience 
and  diplomacy  which  my  agent  could  command.  Mr.  Fish,  arriving  at  the  place 
of  rendezvous,  told  the  giant  who  he  was,  and  the  object  of  his  visit.  In  fact,  he 
showed  him  my  letter,  and  read  the  tempting  offers  which  I  made  for  his  services, 
provided  he  measured  eight  feet,  or  even  came  within  six  inches  of  that  height.* 

"  Oh,  I  measure  over  eight  feet  in  height,"  said  the  giant.  "  Very  likely," 
replied  my  faithful  agent,  "but  you  see  my  orders  are  to  measure  you."  "  There's 
no  need  of  that,  you  can  see  for  yourself,"  stretching  himself  up  a  few  inches,  by 
aid  of  that  peculiar  muscular  knack  which  giants  and  dwarfs  exercise  when  they 
desire  to  extend  or  diminish  their  apparent  stature. 

"No  doubt  you  are  right,"  persisted  the  agent;  "  but  you  see  that  is  not  accord- 
ing to  orders."  "Well,  stand  alongside  of  me;  see,  the  top  of  your  hat  don't 
come  to  my  shoulder,"  said  the  giant,  as  he  swung  his  arm  completely  over  Mr. 
Fish's  head,  hat  and  all. 

But  my  wary  agent  happened  just  then  to  be  watching  the  giant's  feet  and 
knees,  and  he  thought  he  saw  a  movement  around  the  "  understandings  "  that 
materially  helped  the  elevation  of  the  "upperworks,"  "  It  is  all  very  well,"  said 
Mr.  Fish;  "  but  I  tell  you,  if  I  am  not  permitted  to  measure  your  height,  I  shall 
not  engage  you."  My  offer  had  been  very  liberal;  in  fact,  provided  he  was  eight 
feet  high,  it  was  more  than  four  times  the  amount  the  giant  was  then  receiving; 
it  was  evidently  a  great  temptation  to  his  "highness,"  and  quite  as  evidently  he 
did  not  want  to  be  fairly  measured.  "  Well,"  said  the  giant,  "  if  you  can't  take 
my  word  for  it,  look  at  that  door ;  you  see  my  head  is  more  than  two  feet  above 
the  top"  (giving  his  neck  and  every  muscle  in  his  body  a  severe  stretch) ;  "just 
measure  the  height  of  that  door."  My  English  friend  plainly  saw  that  the  giant 


*  See  Illustration,  opposite. 


194  AN    ENTERPRISING   ENGLISHMAN. 

felt  that  he  could  not  come  up  to  the  mark,  and  he  laughed  at  this  last  ruse. 
'•'  Oh,  I  don't  want  to  measure  the  door;  I  prefer  to  measure  you,"  said  Mr.  Fish, 
coolly.  The  giant  was  now  desperate,  and,  stretching  himself  up  to  the  highest 
point,  he  exclaimed:  "Well,  be  quick!  put  your  rule  down  to  my  feet  and  meas- 
ure me;  no  delay,  if  you  please." 

The  giant  knew  he  could  not  hold  himself  up  many  seconds  to  the  few  extra 
inches  he  had  imparted  to  his  extended  muscles;  but  his  remark  had  drawn  Mr. 
Fish's  attention  to  his  feet,  and  from  the  feet  to  the  boots,  and  he  began  to 
open  his  eyes.  "  Look  here,  Monsieur,  "  he  exclaimed  with  much  earnestness, 
"this  sort  of  thing  won't  do,  you  know.  I  don't  understand  this  contrivance 
around  the  soles  of  your  boots,  but  it  seems  to  me  you  have  got  a  set  of  springs 
in  there  which  materially  aids  your  altitude  a  few  inches  when  you  desire  it. 
Now,  I  shall  stand  no  more  nonsense.  If  I  engage  you  at  all,  you  must  tirst  take  off 
your  boots,  and  lie  flat  upon  your  back  in  the  middle  of  the  floor.  The  giant 
grumbled  and  talked  about  his  word  being  doubted  and  his  honor  assailed,  but 
Mr.  Fish  calmly  persisted,  until  at  length  he  slowly  took  off  Ms  coat  and  gradu- 
ally got  down  on  the  floor.  Stretched  upon  his  back,  he  made  several  vain  efforts 
to  extend  his  natural  height.  Mr.  Fish  carefully  applied  his  English  two-foot 
rule,  the  result  of  the  measurement  causing  him  much  astonishment,  and  the  giant 
more  indignation,  the  giant  measuring  exactly  seven  feet  one  and  one-half  inches. 
So  he  was  not  engaged,  and  my  agent  returned  to  England  and  wrote  me  a  most 
amusing  letter,  giving  the  particulars  of  the  gigantic  interview. 

On  the  occasion  of  the  erection  of  a  new  engine  in  his  mill,  Mr.  Fish  proposed 
naming  it  after  his  daughter,  but  she  insisted  it  should  be  christened  "  Barnum," 
and  it  was  so  done,  with  considerable  ceremony.  Subsequently  he  introduced  a 
second  engine  into  his  enlarged  mill,  and  named  this,  after  my  wife,  "  Charity." 

A  short  time  since,  I  wrote  informing  him  that  I  desired  to  give  some  of  the 
foregoing  facts  in  my  book,  and  asked  him  to  give  me  his  consent,  and  also  to 
furnish  me  some  particulars  in  regard  to  the  engines,  and  the  capacity  of  his 
milL  He  wrote  in  return  a  modest  letter,  which  is  so  characteristic  of  my  whole- 
souled  friend  that  I  cannot  forbear  making  the  following  extracts  from  it: 

Had  I  made  a  fortune  of  £100,000  I  should  have  been  proud  o.  a  place  in  your  Autobiog- 
raphy ;  but  as  I  have  only  been  able  to  make  (here  he  named  a  sum  which  in  this  country 
would  be  considered  almost  a  fortune),  I  feel  I  should  be  out  of  place  in  your  pages;  at  all 
events,  if  you  mention  me  at  all,  draw  it  mildly,  if  you  please. 

The  American  war  has  made  sad  havoc  in  our  trade,  and  it  is  only  by  close  attention  to 
business  that  I  have  lately  been  at  all  successful.  I  have  built  a  place  for  one  thousand 
looms,  and  have,  as  you  know,  put  in  a  pair  of  engines,  which  I  have  named  "Barnum  " 
and  "Charity."  Each  engine  has  its  name  engraved  on  two  large  brass  plates  at  either  end 
of  the  cylinder,  which  has  often  caused  much  mirth  when  I  have  explained  the  circum- 
stances to  visitors.  I  started  and  christened  "  Charity"  on  the  fourteenth  of  January  last, 
and  she  has  saved  me  £12  per  month  in  coals  ever  since.  The  steam  from  the  boiler  goes 
first  to  "  Charity  "  (she  is  high  pressure;,  and  "  Barnum  "  only  gets  the  steam  after  she  has 
done  with  it.  He  has  to  work  at  low  pressure  (a  condensing  engine),  and  the  result  is  o 
saving.  Barnum  was  extravagant  when  he  took  steam  direct,  but  since  I  fixed  Charity 
betwixt  him  and  the  boiler,  he  can  only  get  what  she  gives  him.  This  reminds  me  that  you 
state  in  your  "  Life  "  you  could  always  make  money,  but  formerly  did  not  save  it.  Perhaps 
you  never  took  care  of  it  till  Charity  became  Chancellor  of  Exchequer.  When  I  visited  you 
at  the  Bull  Hotel,  in  Blackburn,  you  pointed  to  General  Tom  Thumb,  and  said:  "  That  is 
my  piece  of  goods;  I  have  sold  it  hundreds  of  thousands  of  times,  and  have  never  yet 
delivered  it!"  That  was  tnn  years  ago.  in  185S.  If  1  had  been  doins;  the  same  with  my 
pieces  of  calico,  I  must  have  been  wealthy  by  this  time;  but  1  have  been  hammering  at  one 
(cotton)  nail  several  months,  ami.  as  it  did  not  oiler  to  clinch,  I  was  almost  tempted  to 
doubt  one  of  your  "  rules,"  and  thought  I  would  drive  at  some  other  nail;  but,  on  reflec- 
tion. I  knew  1  understood  cotton  better  than  anything  else,  and  so  1  back  up  your  rule  and 
stick  to  cotton,  not  doubting  it  will  be  all  right  and  successful. 

Mr.  Fish  was  one  of  the  large  class  of  English  manufacturers  who  suffered  seri- 
ously from  the  effects  of  the  rebellion  in  the  United  States.  As  an  Englishman 


AN   ENTERPRISING   ENGLISHMAN.  195 

he  could  not  have  a  patriot's  interest  in  the  progress  of  that  terrible  struggle; 
but  he  made  a  practical  exhibition  of  sympathy  for  the  suffering  soldiers,  in  a 
pleasant  and  characteristic  manner. 

The  great  fair  of  the  Sanitary  Commission,  held  in  New  York  during  the  war, 
affords  one  of  the  most  interesting  chapters  in  American  history.  None  of  those 
who  visited  the  fair  will  forget,  in  the  multiplicity  of  offerings  to  put  money 
into  the  treasury  of  the  commission,  two  monster  cakes,  which  were  as  strange 
in  shape  and  ornament  as  they  were  mammoth  in  their  proportions.  One  of 
these  great  cakes  was  covered  with  miniature  forts,  ships  of  war,  cannon,  armies, 
arms  of  the  whole  "panoply  of  war,"  and  it  excited  the  attention  of  all  visitors. 
This  strange  cake  is  what  is  called  in  Bury,  England,  where  name,  cake  anc 
custom  originated,  a  "Simnel  cake."  It  was  sent  to  me  expressly  for  this  fair, 
by  my  friend  Fish,  and,  while  it  was  in  itself  a  generous  gift,  it  was  doubly  so  as 
coming  from  an  English  manufacturer  who  had  suffered  by  the  war.  The  second 
great  Simnel  cake  which  stood  beside  it  in  the  fair,  was  sent  to  me  personally  by 
Mr.  Fish;  but,  with  his  permission,  I  took  much  pleasure  in  contributing  it,  witb 
his  own  offering,  for  the  benefit  of  our  suffering  soldiers. 


CHAPTER    XXXIII. 
RICHARD'S    HIMSELF    AGAIN. 

Is  1859  I  returned  to  the  United  States.  During  my  last  visit  abroad  I  had 
secured  many  novelties  for  the  Museum,  including  the  Albino  Family,  which  1 
engaged  at  Amsterdam,  and  Thiodon's  mechanical  theater,  which  I  found  at 
Southampton,  besides  purchasing  many  curiosities.  These  things  all  afforded  me 
a  liberal  commission,  and  thus,  by  constant  and  earnest  effort,  I  made  much 
money,  besides  what  I  derived  from  the  Tom  Thumb  exhibitions,  my  lectures, 
and  other  enterprises.  All  of  this  money,  as  well  as  my  wife's  income,  and  a 
considerable  sum  raised  by  selling  a  portion  of  her  property,  was  faithfully 
devoted  to  the  one  great  object  of  my  life  at  that  period — my  extrication  from 
those  crushing  clock  debts.  I  worked  and  I  saved.  When  my  wife  and  youngest 
daughter  were  not  boarding  in  Bridgeport,  they  Irwed  frugally  in  the  suburbs, 
in  a  small  one-story  house  which  was  hired  at  the  rate  of  $150  a  year.  I  had 
now  been  struggling  about  four  years,  with  the  difficulties  of  my  one  great  finan- 
cial mistake,  and  the  end  still  seemed  to  be  far  off.  I  felt  that  the  land,  pur- 
chased by  my  wife  in  East  Bridgeport  at  the  assignees'  sale,  would,  after  a  while, 
increase  rapidly  in  value;  and  on  the  strength  of  this  expectation  more  money 
was  borrowed  for  the  sake  of  taking  up  the  clock  notes,  and  some  of  the  East 
Bridgeport  property  was  sold  in  single  lots,  the  proceeds  going  to  the  same 
object. 

At  last,  in  March,  1860,  all  the  clock  indebtedness  was  satisfactorily  extin- 
guished, excepting  some  $20,000,  which  I  had  bound  myself  to  take  up  within  a 
certain  number  of  months,  my  friend,  James  D.  Johnson,  guaranteeing  my  bond 
to  that  effect.  Mr.  Johnson  was  by  far  my  most  effective  agent  in  working 
me  through  these  clock  troubles,  and  in  aiding  to  bring  them  to  a  successful 
conclusion. 

On  the  seventeenth  day  of  March,  1860,  Messrs.  Butler  &  Greenwood  signed  an 
agreement  to  sell  and  deliver  to  me  on  the  following  Saturday,  March  34th,  their 
good  will  and  entire  interest  in  the  Museum  collection.  This  fact  was  thoroughly 
circulated,  and  it  was  everywhere  announced  in  blazing  posters,  placards  and 
advertisements,  which  were  headed,  "Barnum  on  his  feet  again."  It  was  fur- 
thermore stated  that  the  Museum  would  be  closed,  March  24th,  for  one  week  for 
repairs  and  general  renovation,  to  be  re-opened,  March  31st,  under  the  manage- 
ment and  proprietorship  of  its  original  owner.  It  was  also  announced  that  on 
the  night  of  closing,  I  would  address  the  audience  from  the  stage. 

The  American  Museum,  decorated  on  that  occasion  as  on  holidays,  with  a 
brilliant  display  of  flags  and  banners,  was  filled  to  its  utmost  capacity,  and  I 
experienced  profound  delight  at  seeing  hundreds  of  old  friends  of  both  sexes  in 
the  audience.*  I  lacked  but  four  months  of  being  fifty  years  of  age ;  but  I  felt  all 
the  vigor  and  ambition  that  fired  me  when  I  first  took  possession  of  the  premises 
twenty  years  before;  and  I  was  confident  that  the  various  experiences  of  that 
score  r<{  years  would  be  valuable  to  me  in  my  second  effort  to  secure  an 
independence. 

*  See  Illustration,  page  180. 

196 


EIOHAED'S  HIMSELF  AGAIN.  19? 

At  the  rising  of  the  curtain,  and  before  the  play  commenced,  I  stepped  on  the 
stage  and  was  received  by  the  large  and  brilliant  audience  with  an  enthusiasm 
far  surpassing  anything  of  the  kind  I  had  ever  experienced  or  witnessed  in  a 
public  career  of  a  quarter  of  a  century.  Indeed,  this  tremendous  demonstration 
nearly  broke  me  down,  and  my  voice  faltered  and  tears  came  to  my  eyes  as  I 
thought  of  this  magnificent  conclusion  to  the  trials  and  struggles  of  the  past  four 
years.  Recovering  myself,  however,  I  bowed  my  grateful  acknowledgments  for 
the  reception,  and  addressed  the  audience  as  follows: 

"  LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN:  I  should  be  more  or  less  than  human,  if  I  could  meet 
this  unexpected  and  overwhelming  testimonial  at  your  hands,  without  the  deepest 
emotion.  My  own  personal  connection  with  the  Museum  is  now  resumed,  and  I 
avail  myself  of  the  circumstance  to  say  why  it  is  so.  Never  did  I  feel  stronger 
in  my  worldly  prosperity  than  in  September,  1855.  Three  months  later  I  was  so 
deeply  embarrassed  that  I  felt  certain  of  nothing,  except  the  uncertainty  of 
everything.  A  combination  of  singular  efforts  and  circumstanoes  tempted  me  to 
put  faith  in  a  certain  clock  manufacturing  company,  and  I  placed  my  signature 
to  papers  which  ultimately  broke  me  down.  After  nearly  five  years  of  hard 
struggle  to  keep  my  head  above  water,  I  have  touched  bottom  at  last,  and  here 
to-night,  I  am  happy  to  announce  that  I  have  waded  ashore.  Every  clock  debt 
of  which  I  have  any  knowledge  has  been  provided  for.  Perhaps,  after  the 
troubles  and  turmoils  I  have  experienced,  I  should  feel  no  desire  to  re-engage  in 
the  excitements  of  business,  but  a  man  like  myself,  less  than  fifty  years  of  age, 
and  enjoying  robust  health,  is  scarcely  old  enough  to  be  embalmed  and  put  in  a 
glass  case  in  the  Museum  as  one  of  its  million  of  curiosities.  '  It  is  better  to 
wear  out  than  rust  out.'  Besides,  if  a  man  of  active  temperament  is  not  busy, 
he  is  apt  to  get  into  mischief.  To  avoid  evil,  therefore,  and  since  business  activity 
is  a  necessity  of  my  nature,  here  I  am,  once  more,  in  the  Museum,  and  among 
those  with  whom  I  have  been  so  long  and  so  pleasantly  identified.  I  am  confi- 
dent of  a  cordial  welcome,  and  hence  feel  some  claim  to  your  indulgence  while  I 
briefly  allude  to  the  means  of  my  present  deliverance  from  utter  financial  ruin. 
Need  I  say,  in  the  first  place,  that  I  am  somewhat  indebted  to  the  forbearance  of 
generous  creditors.  In  the  next  place,  permit  me  to  speak  of  sympathizhig 
friends,  whose  volunteered  loans  and  exertions  vastly  aided  my  rescue.  When 
my  day  of  sorrow  came,  I  first  paid  or  secured  every  debt  I  owed  of  a  personal 
nature.  This  done,  I  felt  bound  in  honor  to  give  up  all  of  my  property  that 
remained  towards  liquidating  my  "clock  debts."  I  placed  it  in  the  hands  of 
trustees  and  receivers  for  the  benefit  of  all  the  "clock"  creditors.  But  at  the 
forced  sale  of  my  Connecticut  real  estate,  there  was  a  purchaser  behind  the  screen, 
of  whom  the  world  had  little  knowledge.  In  the  day  of  my  prosperity*  I  made 
over  to  my  wife  much  valuable  property,  including  the  lease  of  this  Museum  build- 
ing— a  lease  then  having  about  twenty-two  years  to  run,  and  enhanced  in  value 
to  more  than  double  its  original  worth.  I  sold  the  Museum  collection  to  Messrs. 
Greenwood  and  Butler,  subject  to  my  wife's  separate  interest  in  the  lease,  and  she 
has  received  more  than  eighty  thousand  dollars  over  and  above  the  sums  paid  to 
the  owners  of  the  building.  Instead  of  selfishly  applying  this  amount  to  private 
purposes,  my  family  lived  with  a  due  regard  to  economy,  and  the  savings  (strictly 
belonging  to  my  wife),  were  devoted  to  buying  in  portions  of  my  estate  at  the 
assignees'  sales,  and  to  purchasing  '  clock  notes '  bearing  my  indorsements.  The 

*  I  was  worth  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  when  a«  a  matter  of  love  I  transferred 
a  portion  to  my  wife,  little  dreaming  that  it  would  be  needed  during  my  lifetime. 


198  RICHARD'S  HIMSELF  AGAIN. 

Christian  name  of  my  wife  is  Charity.  I  may  well  acknowledge,  therefore,  that 
I  am  not  only  a  proper  'subject  of  charity,'  but  that  'without  Charity,  I  am 
nothing.' 

"  But,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  while  Charity  thus  labored  in  my  behalf,  Faith 
and  Hope  were  not  idle.  I  have  been  anything  but  indolent  during  the  last  four 
years.  Driven  from  pillar  to  post,  and  annoyed  beyond  description  by  all  sorts 
of  legal  claims  and  writs,  I  was  perusing  protests  and  summonses  by  day,  and 
dreaming  of  clocks  run  down  by  night.  My  head  was  ever  whizzing  with  dislo- 
cated cog-wheels  and  broken  main-springs;  my  whole  mind  (and  my  credit)  was 
running  upon  tick,  and  everything  pressing  on  me  like  a  dead  weight. 

"  In  this  state  of  affairs  I  felt  that  I  was  of  no  use  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic, 
BO,  giving  the  pendulum  a  swing,  and  seizing  time  by  the  forelock,  I  went  to 
Europe.  There  I  furtively  pulled  the  wires  of  several  exhibitions,  among  which 
that  of  Tom  Thumb  may  be  mentioned  for  example.  I  managed  a  variety  of 
musical  and  commercial  speculations  in  Great  Britain,  Germany,  and  Holland. 
These  enterprises,  together  whith  the  net  profits  of  my  public  lectures,  enabled 
me  to  remit  large  sums  to  confidential  agents  for  the  purchase  of  my  obligations. 
In  this  manner,  I  quietly  extinguished,  little  by  little,  every  dollar  of  my  clock 
liabilities.  I  could  not  have  achieved  this  difficult  feat,  however,  without  the 
able  assistance  of  enthusiastic  friends — and  among  the  chief  of  them  let  me  grate- 
fully acknowledge  the  invaluable  services  of  Mr.  James  D.  Johnson,  a  gentleman 
of  wealth,  in  Bridgeport,  Connecticut.  Other  gentlemen  have  been  generous 
with  me.  Some  have  loaned  me  large  sums  without  security,  and  have  placed 
me  under  obligations  which  must  ever  command  my  honest  gratitude;  but  Mr. 
Johnson  has  been  a  ' friend  indeed,'  for  he  has  been  truly  a  '  friend  in  need.' 

"  You  must  not  infer,  from  what  I  have  said,  that  I  have  completely  recovered 
from  the  stunning  blow  to  which  I  was  subjected  four  years  ago.  I  have  lost 
more  in  the  way  of  tens  of  thousands,  yes,  hundreds  of  thousands,  than  I  care  to 
remember.  A  valuable  portion  of  my  real  estate  in  Connecticut,  however,  has 
been  preserved,  and  as  I  feel  all  the  ardor  of  twenty  years  ago,  and  the  prospect 
here  is  so  nattering,  my  heart  is  animated  with  the  hope  of  ultimately,  by  enter- 
prise and  activity,  obliterating  unpleasant  reminiscences,  and  retrieving  the  losses 
of  the  past.  Experience,  too,  has  taught  me  not  only  that,  even  in  the  matter  of 
money,  'enough  is  as  good  as  a  feast,'  but  that  there  are,  in  this  world,  some 
things  vastly  better  than  the  Almighty  Dollar!  Possibly  I  may  contemplate,  at 
times,  the  painful  day  when  I  said  'Othello's  occupation's  gone;'  but  I  shall 
more  frequently  cherish  the  memory  of  this  moment,  when  I  am  permitted  to 
announce  that  '  Richard's  himself  again.' 

"  Many  people  have  wondered  that  a  man  considered  so  acute  as  myself  should 
have  been  deluded  into  embarrassments  like  mine,  and  not  a  few  have  declared, 
in  short  meter,  that '  Barnum  was  a  fooL'  I  can  only  reply  that  I  never  made 
pretensions  to  the  sharpness  of  a  pawnbroker,  and  I  hope  I  shall  never  so  entirely 
lose  confidence  in  human  nature  as  to  consider  every  man  a  scamp  by  instinct,  or 
a  rogue  by  necessity.  '  It  is  better  to  be  deceived  sometimes,  than  to  distrust 
always,'  says  Lord  Bacon,  and  I  agree  with  him. 

"Experience  is  said  to  be  a  hard  schoolmaster,  but  I  should  be  sorry  to  feel 
that  this  great  lesson  in  adversity  has  not  brought  forth  fruits  of  some  value.  I 
needed  the  discipline  this  tribulation  has  given  me,  and  I  really  feel,  after  all,  that 
this,  like  many  other  apparent  evils,  was  only  a  blessing  in  disguise.  Indeed,  I 
may  mention  that  the  very  clock  factory  which  I  built  in  Bridgeport,  for  the 
purpose  of  bringing  hundreds  of  workmen  to  that  city,  has  been  purchased  and 


RICHARD'S  HIMSELF  AGAIN.  19(J 

quadrupled  in  size  by  the  Wheeler  and  Wilson  Sewing  Machine  Company,  and  is 
now  filled  with  intelligent  New  England  mechanics,  whose  families  add  two  thou- 
sand to  the  population,  and  who  are  doing  a  great  work  in  building  up  and 
beautifying  that  flourishing  city.  So  that  the  same  concern  which  prostrated  me 
seems  destined  as  a  most  important  agent  towards  my  recuperation.  I  am  certain 
that  the  popular  sympathy  has  been  with  me  from  the  beginning;  and  this, 
together  with  a  consciousness  of  rectitude,  is  more  than  an  offset  to  all  the  vicissi- 
tudes to  which  I  have  been  subjected. 

' '  In  conclusion,  I  beg  to  assure  you  and  the  public  that  my  chief  pleasure, 
while  health  and  strength  are  spared  me,  will  be  to  cater  for  your  and  their 
healthy  amusement  and  instruction.  In  future,  such  capabilities  as  I  possess  will 
be  devoted  to  the  maintenance  of  this  Museum  as  a  popular  place  of  family  resort, 
in  which  all  that  is  novel  and  interesting  shall  be  gathered  from  the  four  quarters 
of  the  globe,  and  which  ladies  and  children  may  visit  at  all  times  unattended, 
without  danger  of  encountering  anything  of  an  objectionable  nature.  The 
dramas  introduced  in  the  Lecture  Room  will  never  contain  a  profane  expression 
or  a  vulgar  allusion;  on  the  contrary,  their  tendency  will  always  be  to  encourage 
virtue,  and  frown  upon  vice. 

"I  have  established  connections  in  Europe,  which  will  enable  me  to  produce 
here  a  succession  of  interesting  novelties  otherwise  inaccessible.  Although  I  shall 
be  personally  present  much  of  the  time,  and  hope  to  meet  many  of  my  old 
acquaintances,  as  well  as  to  form  many  new  ones,  I  am  sure  you  will  be  glad  to 
learn  that  I  have  re-secured  the  services  of  one  of  the  late  proprietors,  and  the 
active  manager  of  this  Museum,  Mr.  John  Greenwood,  Jr.  As  he  is  a  modest 
gentleman,  who  would  be  the  last  to  praise  himself,  allow  me  to  add  that  he  is 
one  to  whose  successful  qualities  as  a  caterer  for  the  popular  entertainments,  the 
crowds  that  have  often  filled  this  building  may  well  bear  testimony.  But,  more 
than  this,  he  is  the  unobtrusive  one  to  whose  integrity,  diligence  and  devotion,  I 
owe  much  of  my  present  position  of  self-congratulation.  Mr.  Greenwood  will 
hereafter  act  as  assistant  manager,  while  his  late  co-partner,  Mr.  Butler,  has 
engaged  in  another  branch  of  business.  Once  more,  thanking  you  all  for  your 
kind  welcome,  I  bid  you,  till  the  re-opening,  'an  affectionate  adieu.' " 

This  off-hand  speech  was  received  with  almost  tumultuous  applause.  At  nearly 
fifty  years  of  age,  I  was  now  once  more  before  the  public  with  the  promise  to 
put  on  a  full  head  of  steam,  to  "  rush  things,"  to  give  double  or  treble  the  amount 
of  attractions  ever  before  offered  at  the  Museum,  and  to  devote  all  my  own  time 
and  services  to  the  enterprise.  In  return,  I  asked  that  the  public  should  give  my 
efforts  the  patronage  they  merited,  and  the  public  took  me  at  my  word.  The 
daily  number  of  visitors  at  once  more  than  doubled,  and  my  exertions  to  gratify 
them  with  rapid  changes  and  novelties  never  tired. 

The  announcement  that  I  was  at  last  out  of  the  financial  entanglement  was 
variously  received.  That  portion  of  the  press  which  had  followed  me  with  abuse 
when  I  was  down,  under  the  belief  that  my  case  was  past  recovery,  were  chary 
in  allusions  to  the  new  state  of  things,  or  passed  them  over  without  comment. 
The  sycophants  always  knew  I  would  get  up  again,  "and  said  so  at  the  time;" 
the  many  and  noble  journals  which  had  stood  by  me  and  upheld  me  in  my  mis- 
fortunes, were  of  course  rejoiced,  and  their  words  of  sincere  congratulation  gave 
me  a  higher  satisfaction  than  I  have  power  of  language  to  acknowledge.  Letters 
of  congratulation  came  in  upon  me  from  every  quarter.  Friendly  hands  that 
had  never  been  withheld  during  the  long  period  of  my  misfortune,  were  now 


200  RICHARD'S  HIMSELF  AGAIN. 

extended  with  a  still  heartier  grip.  I  never  knew  till  now  the  warmth  and 
number  of  my  friends. 

Nor  must  I  neglect  to  state  that  a  large  number  of  my  creditors  who  held  the 
clock  notes,  proved  very  magnanimous  in  taking  into  consideration  the  gross 
deception  which  had  put  me  in  their  power.  Not  a  few  of  them  said  to  me  in 
substance:  "  You  never  supposed  you  had  made  yourself  liable  for  this  debt;  you 
were  deluded  into  it;  it  is  not  right  that  it  should  be  held  over  you  to  keep  you 
hopelessly  down ;  take  it,  and  pay  me'such  percentage  as,  under  the  circumstances, 
it  is  possible  for  you  to  pay."  But  for  such  men  and  such  consideration  I  fear  I 
should  never  have  got  on  my  feet  again;  and  of  the  many  who  rejoiced  in  my 
bettered  fortune,  not  a  few  were  of  this  class  of  my  creditors. 

My  old  friend,  the  Boston  Saturday  Evening  Gazette,  which  printed  a  few 
cheering  poetical  lines  of  consolation  and  hope  when  I  was  down,*  now  gave  me 
the  following  from  the  same  graceful  pen,  conveying  glowing  words  of  congratu- 
lation at  my  rise  again: 

ANOTHER  WORD  FOR  BARNTJM. 

BARNCM,  your  hand!    The  struggle  o'er, 

Ton  face  the  world  and  ask  no  favor ; 
fou  stand  where  you  have  stood  before, 

The  old  salt  hasn't  lost  its  savor. 
You  now  can  laugh  with  friends,  at  foes, 

Ne'er  heeding  Mrs.  Grnndy's  tattle ; 
You've  dealt  and  taken  sturdy  blows, 

Regardless  of  the  rabble's  prattle. 

Not  yours  the  heart  to  harbor  ill 

'Gainst  those  who've  dealt  in  trivial  jesting; 
You  pass  them  with  the  same  good  will 

Erst  shown  when  they  their  Vit  were  testing. 
You're  the  same  Barnnm  that  we  knew. 

You're  good  for  years,  still  fit  for  labor, 
Be  as  of  old,  be  bold  and  true, 

Honest  as  man,  aa  friend,  as  neighbor. 

At  about  this  period,  the  following  poem  was  published  in  a  Pottsville,  Pa., 
paper,  and  copied  by  many  journals  of  the  day: 

A  HEALTH  TO  BARNUM. 

COMPANIONS!  fill  your  glasses  round, 

And  drink  a  health  to  one 
Who  has  few  coming  after  him, 

To  do  as  he  has  done ; 
Who  made  a  fortune  for  himself, 

Made  fortunes,  too,  for  many, 
Yet  wronged  no  bosom  of  a  sigh, 

No  pocket  of  a  penny. 
Come!  shout  a  gallant  chorus, 

And  make  the  glasses  ring, 
Here's  health  and  luck  to  Barnuml 

The  Exhibition  King. 

Who  lured  the  Swedish  Nightingale 

To  Western  woods  to  come? 
Who  prosperous  and  happy  made 

The  life  of  little  Thumb? 
Who  oped  Amusement's  golden  door 

So  cheaply  to  the  crowd, 
And  taught  Morality  to  smile 

On  all  his  stage  allowed? 
Come!  shout  a  gallant  chorus, 

Until  the  glasses  ring — 
Here's  health  and  luck  to  Barnuml 

The  Exhibition  King. 

•  See  page  149. 


RICHARD'S  HIMSELF  AGAIN.  201 

And  when  the  sad  reverses  came, 

As  come  they  may  to  all, 
Who  stood  a  Hero,  bold  and  true. 

Amid  his  fortune's  fall? 
Who  to  the  utmost  yielded  up 

What  Honor  could  not  keep, 
Then  took  the  field  of  life  again 

With  courage  calm  and  deep? 
Cornel  shout  a  gallant  chorus, 

Until  the  glasses  dance- 
Here's  health  and  luck  to  Itanium, 

The  Napoleon  of  Finance. 

Yet,  no — our  hero  would  not  look 

With  smiles  on  such  a  cup ; 
Throw  out  the  wine — with  water  clear, 

Fill  the  pure  crystal  up. 
Then  rise,  and  greet  with  deep  respect, 

The  courage  he  has  shown. 
And  drink  to  him  who  well  deserves 

A  seat  on  Fortune's  throne. 
Here's  health  and  luck  to  Itanium! 

An  Elba  he  has  seen, 
And  never  may  his  map  of  life 

Display  a  St.  Hdewt 

MRS.  ANNA  BACHX, 


CHAPTER    XXXIV. 

MENAGERIE  AND   MUSEUM   MEMORANDA. 

1  WAS  now  fairly  embarked  on  board  the  good  old  ship  American  Museum,  to 
try  onoe  more  my  skill  as  captain,  and  to  see  what  fortune  the  voyage  would 
bring  me.  Curiosities  began  to  pour  into  the  Museum  Halls,  and  I  was  eager  for 
enterprises  in  the  show  line,  whether  as  part  of  the  Museum  itself,  or  as  outside 
.  accessories  or  accompaniments.  Among  the  first  to  give  me  a  call,  with  attrac- 
tions sure  to  prove  a  success,  was  James  C.  Adams,  of  hard-earned,  grizzly-bear 
fame.  This  extraordinary  man  was  eminently  what  is  called  "a  character." 
He  was  universally  known  as  "  Grizzly  Adams,"  from  the  fact  that  he  had  cap- 
tured a  great  many  grizzly  bears,  at  the  risk  and  cost  of  fearful  encounters  and 
perils.  He  was  brave,  and  with  his  bravery  there  was  enough  of  the  romantic  in 
his  nature  to  make  him  a  real  hero.  For  many  years  a  hunter  and  trapper  in  the 
Rocky  and  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains,  he  acquired  a  recklessness,  which,  added  to 
his  natural  invincible  courage,  rendered  him  one  of  the  most  striking  men  of  the 
age,  and  he  was  emphatically  a  man  of  pluck.  A  month  after  I  had  re-purchased 
the  Museum,  he  arrrived  in  New  York  with  his  famous  collection  of  California 
aninmla,  captured  by  himself,  consisting  of  twenty  or  thirty  immense  grizzly 
bears,  at  the  head  of  which  stood  "Old  Samson,"  together  with  several  wolves, 
half  a  dozen  different  species  of  California  bears,  Calif ornia  lions,  tigers,  buffalo, 
elk,  and  "  Old  Neptune,"  the  great  sea-lion  from  the  Pacific. 

Old  Adams  had  trained  all  these  monsters  so  that  with  him  they  were  as  docile 
as  kittens,  though  many  of  the  most  ferocious  among  them  would  attack  a 
stranger  without  hesitation,  if  he  came  within  their  grasp.  In  fact  the  training 
of  these  animals  was  no  fool's  play,  as  Old  Adams  learned  to  his  cost,  for  the 
terrific  blows  which  he  received  from  time  to  time,  while  teaching  them 
"docility,"  finally  cost  him  his  life.* 

Adams  called  on  me  immediately  on  his  arrival  in  New  York.  He  was  dressed 
in  his  hunter's  suit  of  buckskin,  trimmed  with  the  skins  and  bordered  with  the 
hanging  tails  of  small  Rocky  Mountain  animals;  his  cap  consisting  of  the  skin  of 
a  wolfs  head  and  shoulders,  from  which  depended  several  tails,  and  under  which 
appeared  his  stiff,  bushy,  gray  hair  and  his  long,  white,  grizzly  beard;  in  fact 
Old  Adams  was  quite  as  much  of  a  show  as  his  beasts.  They  had  come  around 
Cape  Horn  on  the  clipper  ship  "  Golden  Fleece,"  and  a  sea  voyage  of  three  and  a 
half  months  had  probably  not  added  much  to  the  beauty  or  neat  appearance  of 
the  old  bear-hunter.  During  our  conversation,  Grizzly  Adams  took  off  his  cap, 
and  showed  me  the  top  of  his  head.  His  skull  was  literally  broken  in.  It  had, 
on  various  occasions,  been  struck  by  the  fearful  paws  of  his  grizzly  students; 
and  the  last  blow,  from  the  bear  called  "General  Fremont,"  had  laid  open  his 
brain  so  that  its  workings  were  plainly  visible.  I  remarked  that  I  thought  it  was 
a  dangerous  wound  and  might  possibly  prove  fatal. 

*  See  Illustration,  page  200. 


MENAGERIE   AND   MUSEUM    MEMORANDA.  203 

"Yes,"  replied  Adams,  "that  will  fix  me  out.  It  had  nearly  healed;  but 
old  Fremont  opened  it  for  me,  for  the  third  or  fourth  time,  before  I  left  Cal- 
ifornia, and  he  did  his  business  so  thoroughly,  I'm  a  used-up  man.  However,  I 
reckon  I  may  live  six  months  or  a  year  yet."  This  was  spoken  as  coolly  as  if  he 
had  been  talking  about  the  life  of  a  dog.  The  immediate  object  of  "  old  Adams  " 
in  calling  upon  me  was  this;  I  had  purchased,  a  week  previously,  one-half  inter- 
est in  his  California  menagerie,  from  a  man  who  had  come  by  way  of  the  Isthmus 
from  California,  and  who  claimed  to  own  an  equal  interest  with  Adams  in  the 
show.  Adams  declared  that  the  man  had  only  advanced  him  some  money,  and 
did  not  possess  the  right  to  sell  half  of  the  concern.  However,  the  man  held  a  bill 
of  sale  for  half  of  the  "California  Menagerie,"  and  old  Adams  finally  consented 
to  accept  me  as  an  equal  partner  in  the  speculation,  saying  that  he  guessed  I  could 
do  the  managing  part,  and  he  would  show  up  the  animals.  I  obtained  a  canvas 
tent,  and,  erecting  it  on  the  present  site  of  Wallack's  theater.  Adams  there  opened 
his  novel  California  Menagerie.  On  the  morning  of  opening,  a  band  of  music 
preceded  a  procession  of  animal  cages  down  Broadway  and  up  the  Bowery,  old 
Adams,  dressed  in  his  hunting  costume,  heading  the  line,  with  a  platform  wagon 
on  which  were  placed  three  immense  grizzly  bears,  two  of  which  he  held  by 
chains,  while  he  was  mounted  on  the  back  of  the  largest  grizzly,  which  stood  in 
the  center  and  was  not  secured  in  any  manner  whatever.  This  was  the  bear 
known  as  "General  Fremont,"  and  so  docile  had  he  become,  that  Adams  said  he 
had  used  him  as  a  pack-bear,  to  carry  his  cooking  and  hunting  apparatus  through 
the  mountains  for  six  months,  and  had  ridden  him  hundreds  of  miles.  But 
apparently  docile  as  were  many  of  these  animals,  there  was  not  one  among  them 
that  would  not  occasionally  give  Adams  a  sly  blow  or  a  sly  bite  when  a  good 
chance  offered;  hence  old  Adams  was  but  a  wreck  of  his  former  self,  and 
expressed  pretty  nearly  the  truth  when  he  said: 

"Mr.  Barnum,  I  am  not  the  man  I  was  five  years  ago.  Then  I  felt  able  to 
stand  the  hug  of  any  grizzly  living,  and  was  always  glad  to  encounter,  single 
handed,  any  sort  of  an  animal  that  dared  present  himself.  But  I  have  been 
beaten  to  a  jelly,  torn  almost  limb  from  limb,  and  nearly  chawed  up  and  spit 
out  by  these  treacherous  grizzly  bears.  However,  I  am  good  for  a  few  months 
yet,  and  by  that  tune  I  hope  we  shall  gain  enough  to  make  my  old  woman 
comfortable,  for  I  have  been  absent  from  her  some  years." 

His  wife  came  from  Massachusetts  to  New  York  and  nursed  him.  Dr.  Johns 
dressed  his  wounds  every  day,  and  not  only  told  Adams  he  could  never  recover, 
but  assured  his  friends,  that  probably  a  very  few  weeks  would  lay  him  in  his 
grave.  But  Adams  was  as  firm  as  adamant  and  as  resolute  as  a  lion.  Among 
the  thousands  who  saw  him  dressed  in  his  grotesque  hunter's  suit,  and  witnessed 
the  seeming  vigor  with  which  he  "performed"  the  savage  monsters,  beating 
and  whipping  them  into  apparently  the  most  perfect  docility,  probably  not  one 
suspected  that  this  rough,  fierce-looking,  powerful  demi-savage,  as  he  appeared 
to  be,  was  suffering  intense  pain  from  his  broken  skull  and  fevered  system,  and 
that  nothing  kept  him  from  stretching  himself  on  his  death-bed  but  his  most 
indomitable  and  extraordinary  will. 

Old  Adams  liked  to  astonish  others,  as  he  often  did,  with  his  astounding  stories, 
but  no  one  could  astonish  him ;  he  had  seen  everything  and  knew  everything,  and 
I  was  anxious  to  get  a  chance  of  exposing  this  weak  point  to  him.  A  fit  occasion 
soon  presented  itself.  One  day,  while  engaged  in  my  office  at  the  Museum,  a 
man  with  marked  Teutonic  features  and  accent  approached  the  door  and  asked 
if  I  would  like  to  buy  a  pair  of  living  golden  pigeons. 


204  MENAGERIE   AND  MUSEUM   MEMORANDA. 

"  Yes,"  I  replied,  "I  would  like  a  flock  of  golden  pigeons,  if  I  could  buy  them 
for  their  weight  in  silver;  for  there  are  no  'golden'  pigeons  in  existence,  unless 
they  are  made  from  the  pure  metaL" 

"  You  shall  see  some  golden  pigeons  alive,"  he  replied,  at  the  same  time  enter- 
ing my  office,  and  closing  the  door  after  him,  He  then  removed  the  lid  from  a 
small  basket  which  he  carried  in  his  hand,  and  sure  enough,  there  were  snugly 
ensconced  a  pair  of  beautiful,  living  ruff-necked  pigeons,  as  yellow  as  saffron,  and 
as  bright  as  a  double-eagle  fresh  from  the  mint. 

I  confess  I  was  somewhat  staggered  at  this  sight,  and  quickly  asked  the  man 
where  those  birds  came  from.  A  dull,  lazy  smile  crawled  over  the  sober  face  of 
iny  German  visitor,  as  he  replied  in  a  slow,  guttural  tone  of  voice : 

"  What  you  think  yourself?" 

Catching  his  meaning,  I  quickly  replied: 

"  I  think  it  is  a  humbug." 

"Of  course,  I  know  you  will  say  so;  because  you  'forstha'  such  things;  so  I 
shall  not  try  to  humbug  you;  I  have  colored  them  myself." 

On  furthei  inquiry,  I  learned  that  this  German  was  a  chemist,  and  that  he  pos- 
sessed the  art  of  coloring  birds  any  hue  desired,  and  yet  retain  a  natural  gloss 
on  the  feathers,  which  gave  every  shade  the  appearance  of  reality. 

Thinking  here  was  a  good  chance  to  catch  "Grizzly  Adams,"  I  bought  the  pair 
of  golden  pigeons  for  ten  dollars,  and  sent  them  up  to  the  "  Happy  Family " 
(where  I  knew  Adams  would  soon  see  them),  marked,  "  Golden  Pigeons,  from 
California.  " 

The  next  morning  " Old  Grizzly  Adams, "passed  through  the  Museum  when  his 
eyes  fell  on  the  "  Golden  California  Pigeons."  He  looked  a  moment  and  doubt- 
less admired.  He  soon  after  came  to  my  office. 

"  Mr.  Barnum,"  said  he,  "  you  must  let  me  have  those  California  pigeons." 

"I  can't  spare  them,"  I  replied. 

"But  you  must  spare  them.  All  the  birds  and  animals  from  Calif ornia ought 
to  be  together.  You  own  half  of  my  Calif  ornia  menagerie,  and  you  must  lend 
me  those  pigeons." 

"  Mr.  Adams,  they  are  too  rare  and  valuable  a  bird  to  be  hawked  about  in  that 

manner," 

"Oh,  don't  be  a  fool,"  replied  Adams.  "Rare  bird,  indeed!  Why,  they  are 
just  as  common  in  California  as  any  other  pigeon!  I  could  have  brought  a  hun- 
dred of  them  from  San  Francisco,  if  I  had  thought  of  it." 

" But  why  did  you  not  think  of  it?"  I  asked,  with  a  suppressed  smile. 

"Because  they  are  so  common  there,"  said  Adams,  "I  did  not  think  they 
would  be  any  curiosity  here." 

I  was  ready  to  burst  with  laughter  to  see  how  readily  Adams  swallowed  the 
bait,  but,  maintaining  the  most  rigid  gravity,  I  replied: 

"  Oh  well,  Mr.  Adams,  if  they  are  really  so  common  in  California,  you  had 
probably  better  take  them,  and  you  may  write  over  and  have  half  a  dozen  pairs 
sent  to  me  for  the  Museum. " 

Six  or  eight  weeks  after  this  incident,  I  was  in  the  California  Menagerie,  and 
noticed  that  the  "Golden  Pigeons"  had  assumed  a  frightfully  mottled  appear- 
ance. Their  feathers  had  grown  out  and  they  were  half  white.  Adams  had 
been  so  busy  with  his  bears  that  he  had  not  noticed  the  change.  I  called  him  up 
to  the  pigeon  cage,  and  remarked- 

"Mr.  Adams,  I  fear  you  will  lose  your  Golden  Pigeons;  they  must  be  very 
sick;  I  observe  they  are  turning  quite  pale." 


MENAGERIE   AND   MUSEUM   MEMORANDA.  205 

Adams  looked  at  them  a  moment  with  astonishment,  then  turning  to  me,  and 
seeing  that  I  could  not  suppress  a  smile,  he  indignantly  exclaimed: 

"Blast  the  Golden  Pigeons  I  You  had  better  take  them  back  to  the  Museum. 
You  can't  humbug  me  with  your  painted  pigeons! " 

This  was  too  much,  and  "I  laughed  till  I  cried,"  to  witness  the  mixed  look  of 
astonishment  and  vexation  which  marked  the  grizzly  features  of  old  Adams. 

After  the  exhibition  on  Thirteenth  street  and  Broadway  had  been  open  six 
weeks,  the  doctor  insisted  that  Adams  should  sell  out  his  share  in  the  animals  and 
settle  up  his  worldly  affairs,  for  he  assured  him  that  he  was  growing  weaker 
every  day,  and  his  earthly  existence  must  soon  terminate.  "  I  shall  live  a  good 
deal  longer  than  you  doctors  think  for,"  replied  Adams,  doggedly;  and  then, 
seeming  after  all  to  realize  the  truth  of  the  doctor's  assertion,  he  turned  to  me 
and  said:  "Well,  Mr.  Barnum,  you  must  buy  me  out."  He  named  his  price  for 
his  half  of  the  "show,"  and  I  accepted  his  offer.  We  had  arranged  to  exhibit 
the  bears  in  Connecticut  and  Massachusetts  during  the  summer,  in  connection 
with  a  circus,  and  Adams  insisted  that  I  should  hire  him  to  travel  for  the  season 
and  exhibit  the  bears  in  their  curious  performances.  He  offered  to  go  for  $60  per 
week  and  traveling  expenses  of  himself  and  wife.  I  replied  that  I  would  gladly 
engage  him  as  long  as  he  could  stand  it,  but  I  advised  him  to  give  up  business  and 
go  to  his  home  in  Massachusetts;  "  for,"  I  remarked,  "  you  are  growing  weaker 
every  day,  and  at  best  cannot  stand  it  more  than  a  fortnight." 

"  What  will  you  give  me  extra  if  1  will  travel  and  exhibit  the  bears  every  day 
for  ten  weeks  ? "  added  old  Adams,  eagerly. 

"  Five  hundred  dollars,"  ^replied  with  a  laugh. 

"Donel"  exclaimed  Adams,  "I  will  do  it,  so  draw  up  an  agreement  to  that 
effect  at  once.  But,  mind  you,  draw  it  payable  to  ray  wife,  for  I  may  »e  too 
weak  to  attend  to  business  after  the  ten  weeks  are  up,  and  if  I  perform  my  part 
of  the  contract,  I  want  her  to  get  the  $500  without  any  trouble." 

I  drew  up  a  contract  to  pay  him  $60  per  week  for  his  services,  and  if  he  con- 
tinued to  exhibit  the  bears  for  ten  consecutive  weeks  I  was  then  to  hand  him,  or 
his  wife,  $500  extra. 

"  You  have  lost  your  $500! "  exclaimed  Adams  on  taking  the  contract;  "  for  1 
am  bound  to  live  and  earn  it." 

"  I  hope  you  may,  with  all  my  heart,  and  a  hundred  years  more  if  you  desire 
it,"  I  replied. 

"  Call  me  a  fool  if  I  don't  earn  the  $5001 "  exclaimed  Adams,  with  a  triumph- 
ant laugh. 

The  "  show  "  started  off  in  a  few  days,  and  at  the  end  of  a  fortnight  I  met  it  at 
Hartford,  Connecticut. 

"Well,"  said  J,  "Adams,  you  seem  to  stand  it  pretty  well.  I  hope  you  and 
your  wife  are  comfortable  ? " 

"  Yes,"  he  replied  with  a  laugh;  "  and  you  may  as  well  try  to  be  comfortable, 
too,  for  your  $500  is  a  goner." 

"  All  right,"  I  replied,  "  I  hope  you  will  grow  better  every  day." 

But  I  saw  by  his  pale  face  and  other  indications  that  he  was  rapidly  failing. 
In  three  weeks  more,  I  met  him  again  at  New  Bedford,  Massachusetts.  It  seemed 
to  me,  then,  that  he  could  not  live  a  week,  for  his  eyes  were  glassy  and  his  hands 
trembled,  but  his  pluck  was  as  great  as  ever. 

"  This  hot  weather  is  pretty  bad  for  me,"  he  said,  "  but  my  ten  weeks  are  half 
expired,  and  I  am  good  for  your  $500,  and,  probably,  a  month  or  two  longer." 


206  MENAGERIE   AND   MUSEUM   MEMOBANDA. 

This  was  said  with  as  much  bravado  as  if  he  was  offering  to  bet  upon  a  horse- 
race. I  offered  to  pay  him  half  of  the  $500,  if  he  would  give  up  and  go  home; 
but  he  peremptorily  declined  making  any  compromise  whatever.  I  met  him  the 
ninth  week  in  Boston.  He  had  failed  considerably  since  I  last  saw  him,  but  he 
still  continued  to  exhibit  the  bears,  although  he  was  too  weak  to  lead  them  in, 
and  he  chuckled  over  his  almost  certain  triumph.  I  laughed  in  return,  and  sin- 
cerely congratulated  him  on  his  nerve  and  probable  success.  I  remained  with 
him  until  the  tenth  week  was  finished,  and  handed  him  his  $500.  He  took  it  with 
a  leer  of  satisfaction,  and  remarked,  that  he  was  sorry  I  was  a  teetotaler,  for  he 
would  like  to  stand  treat  I 

Just  before  the  menagerie  left  New  York,  I  had  paid  $150  for  a  new  hunting- 
suit,  made  of  beaver  skins,  similar  to  the  one  which  Adams  had  worn.  This  I 
intended  for  Heir  Driesbach,  the  animal-tamer,  who  was  engaged  by  me  to  take 
the  place  of  Adams,  whenever  he  should  be  compelled  to  give  up.  Adams,  on  start- 
ing from  New  York,  asked  me  to  loan  this  new  dress  to  him  to  perform  in  once 
in  a  while  in  a  fair  day,  where  he  had  a  large  audience,  for  his  own  costume  was 
considerably  soiled.  I  did  so,  and  now  when  I  handed  him  his  $500,  he  remarked: 

"  Mr.  Barnum,  I  suppose  you  are  going  to  give  me  this  new  hunting-dress  ? " 

"Oh,  no,"  I  replied,  "I  got  that  for  your  successor,  who  will  exhibit  the 
bears  to-morrow;  besides,  you  have  no  possible  use  for  it." 

"Now,  don't  be  mean,  but  lend  me  the  dress,  if  you  won't  give  it  to  me,  for  I 
want  to  wear  it  home  to  my  native  village." 

I  could  not  refuse  the  poor  old  man  anything,  and  I  therefore  replied: 

"  Well,  Adams,  I  will  lend  you  the  dress;  but  you  will  send  it  back  to  me  ? " 

"Yes,  when  I  have  done  with  it,"  he  replied,  with  an  evident  chuckle  of 
triumph. 

I  thought  to  myself,  he  will  soon  be  done  with  it,  and  replied:  "That's  all 
right." 

A  new  idea  evidently  struck  him,  for,  with  a  brightening  look  of  satisfaction, 
he  said: 

"  Now,  Barnum,  you  have  made  a  good  thing  out  of  the  California  menagerie, 
and  so  have  I;  but  you  will  make  a  heap  more.  So  if  you  won't  give  me  this 
new  hunter's  dress,  just  draw  a  little  writing,  and  sign  it,  saying  that  I  may 
wear  it  until  I  have  done  with  it." 

I  knew  that  in  a  few  days,  at  longest,  he  would  be  "done"  with  this  world 
altogether,  and,  to  gratify  him,  I  cheerfully  drew  and  signed  the  paper. 

"  Come,  old  Yankee,  I've  got  you  this  time — see  if  I  hain't ! "  exclaimed  Adams, 
with  a  broad  grin,  as  he  took  the  paper. 

I  smiled,  and  said: 

"  All  right,  my  dear  fellow;  the  longer  you  live  the  better  I  shall  like  it." 

We  parted,  and  he  went  to  Charlton,  Worcester  County,  Mass.,  \vh«re  his 
wife  and  daughter  lived.  He  took  at  once  to  his  bed,  and  never  rose  from  it 
again.  The  excitement  had  passed  away,  and  his  vital  energies  could  accomplish 
no  more.  The  fifth  day  after  arriving  home,  the  physician  told  him  he  could  not 
live  until  the  next  morning.  He  received  the  announcement  m  perfect  calmness, 
and  with  the  most  apparent  indifference ;  then,  turning  to  his  wife,  with  a  smile 
he  requested  her  to  have  him  buried  in  the  new  hunting-suit.  "For,"  said  he, 
"  Barnum  agreed  to  let  me  have  it  until  I  have  done  with  it,  and  I  was  deter- 
mined to  fix  his  flint  this  time.  He  shall  never  see  that  dress  again."  That  dress 
was  indeed  the  shroud  in  which  he  was  entombed. 


MENAGERIE  AND  MUSEUM   MEMORANDA.  207 

After  the  death  of  Adams,  the  grizzly  bears  and  other  animals,  were  added  to 
the  collection  in  my  Museum,  and  I  employed  Herr  Driesbach,  the  celebrated 
lion-tamer,  as  an  exhibitor.  Some  time  afterwards  the  bears  were  sold  to  a  men- 
agerie company,  but  I  kept  "  Old  Neptune,"  the  sea-lion,  for  several  years,  send- 
ing him  occasionally  for  exhibitions  in  other  cities,  as  far  west  as  Chicago. 

On  the  thirteenth  of  October,  1860,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  then  making  a  tour  it 
the  United  States,  in  company  with  his  suite,  visited  the  American  Museum.* 
This  was  a  very  great  compliment,  since  it  was  the  only  place  of  amusement  the 
Prince  attended  in  this  country.  Unfortunately,  I  was  in  Bridgeport  at  the  time, 
and  the  Museum  was  in  charge  of  my  manager,  Mr.  Greenwood. 

On  leaving  the  Museum,  the  Prince  asked  to  see  Mr.  Barnum,  and  when  he 
was  told  that  I  was  out  of  town,  he  remarked:  "  We  have  missed  the  most  inter- 
esting feature  of  the  establishment."  A  few  days  afterwards,  when  the  Prince 
was  in  Boston,  happening  to  be  in  that  city,  I  sent  my  card  to  him  at  the  Revere 
House,  and  was  cordially  received.  He  smiled  when  I  reminded  him  that  I  had 
seen  him  when  he  was  a  little  boy,  on  the  occasion  of  one  of  my  visits  to  Buck- 
ingham Palace  with  General  Tom  Thumb.  The  Prince  told  me  that  he  was  much 
pleased  with  his  recent  inspection  of  my  Museum,  and  that  he  and  his  suite  had 
left  their  autographs  in  the  establishment,  as  mementoes  of  their  visit. 

Meanwhile  the  Museum  flourished  better  than  ever;  and  I  began  to  make  large 
holes  in  the  mortgages  which  covered  the  property  of  my  wife  in  New  York  and 
in  Connecticut.  Still,  there  was  an  immense  amount  of  debts  resting  upon  all 
her  real  estate,  and  nothing  but  time,  economy,  industry  and  diligence  would 
remove  the  burdens. 

*  He«  Illustration,  page  112. 


CHAPTER    XXXV. 

EAST   BRIDGEPORT.* 

FOB  nearly  five  years  my  family  had  been  knocked  about,  the  sport  of  adverse 
fortune,  without  a  settled  home.  Sometimes  we  boarded,  and  at  other  times  we 
lived  in  a  small  hired  house.  Two  of  my  daughters  were  married,  and  my  youngest 
daughter,  Pauline,  was  away  at  boarding-school.  The  health  of  my  wife  waa 
much  impaired,  and  she  especially  needed  a  fixed  residence  which  she  could  call 
"home."  Accordingly,  in  1860,  I  built  a  pleasant  house  adjoining  that  of 
my  daughter  Caroline,  in  Bridgeport,  one  hundred  rods  west  of  the  grounds  of 
Iranistan. 

Meanwhile,  my  pet  city,  East  Bridgeport,  was  progressing  with  giant  strides. 
The  Wheeler  and  Wilson  Sewing  Machine  manufactory  had  been  quadrupled  in 
size,  and  employed  about  a  thousand  workmen.  Numerous  other  large  factories 
had  been  built,  and  scores  of  first-class  houses  were  erected,  besides  many  neat 
but  smaller  and  cheaper  houses  for  laborers  and  mechanics.  That  piece  of 
property,  which,  but  eight  years  before,  had  been  farm  land,  with  scarcely  six 
houses  upon  the  whole  tract,  was  now  a  beautiful  new  city,  teeming  with  busy 
life,  and  looking  as  neat  as  a  new  pin. 

I  copy  from  the  files  of  the  Bridgeport  Standard,  an  offer  which  I  made,  and 
the  editorial  comment  thereon.  This  offer  was  for  the  sake  of  helping  those  who 
were  willing  to  help  themselves,  and,  at  the  same  time,  contribute  to  my  happi- 
ness, as  well  as  their  own,  by  forwarding  the  growth  of  the  new  city. 

"  NEW  HOUSES  IN  EAST  BRIDGEPORT. 
"EVERY  MAN  TO  OWN  THB  HOUSE  HB  LIVES  IN. 

"  There  is  a  demand  at  the  present  moment  for  two  hundred  more  dwelling-houses  In 
East  Bridgeport.  It  is  evident  that  if  the  money  expended  in  rent  can  be  paid  towards  the 
purchase  of  a  house  and  lot.  the  person  so  paying  will  in  a  few  years  own  the  house  he  lives 
in,  instead  of  always  remaining  a  tenant.  In  view  of  this  fact,  I  propose  to  loan  money  at 
six  per  cent,  to  any  number,  not  exceeding  fifty,  industrious,  temperate  and  respectable 
individuals,  who  desire  to  build  their  own  houses. 

"  They  may  engage  their  own  builders,  and  build  according  to  any  reasonable  plan  (which 
I  may  approve),  or  I  will  have  it  done  for  them  at  the  lowest  possible  rate,  without  a  far- 
thing profit  to  myself  or  agent,  I  putting  the  lot  at  a  fair  price  and  advancing  eighty  per  cent, 
of  the  entire  cost;  the  other  party  to  furnish  twenty  per  cent,  in  labor,  material  or  money, 
and  they  may  pay  me  in  small  sums  weekly,  monthly  or  quarterly,  any  amount  not  less  than 
three  per  cent,  per  quarter,  all  ol  which  is  to  apply  on  the  money  advanced  until  it  is  paid. 

"  It  has  been  ascertained  that  by  purchasing  building  materials  for  cash,  and  in  large 
quantities,  nice  dwellings,  painted  and  furnished  with  green  blinds,  can  be  erected  at  a  cost 
of  $1,500  or  $1,800,  for  house,  lot,  fences,  etc.,  all  complete,  and  if  six  or  eight  friends  prefer 
to  join  in  erecting  a  neat  block  of  houses  with  verandas  in  front,  the  average  cost  need  not 
exceed  about  $1,300  per  house  and  lot.  If,  however,  some  parties  would  prefer  a  single  or 
double  house  that  would  cost  $^,500  to  $3,000,  I  shall  be  glad  to  meet  their  views. 

"  P.  T.  BABNUM. 

"February  16,  1861" 

The  editor  of  the  Standard  printed  the  following  upon  my  announcement: 

"  AN  ADVANTAGEOUS  OFFER.— We  have  read  with  great  pleasure  Mr.  Barnnm's  adver- 
tisement, offering  assistance  to  any  number  of  persons,  not  exceeding  fifty,  in  the  erectioo 

*  See  Illustration,  opposite. 

208 


EAST   BRIDGEPORT  209 

of  dwelling-houses.  This  plan  combines  all  the  advantages  and  none  of  the  objections  of 
Building  Associations.  Any  individual  who  can  furnish  in  cash,  labor,  or  material,  oue- 
flflh  only  of  the  amount  requisite  for  the  erection  of  a  dwelling-house,  can  receive  the  other 
four-fifths  from  Mr.  Barnum,  rent  his  house  and  by  merely  paying  what  may  be  considered  as 
only  a  fair  rent  for  a  few  years,  find  himself  at  last  the  owner,  and  all  further  payments 
cease.  In  the  mean  time,  he  can  be  making  such  inexpensive  improvements  in  his  property 
as  would  greatly  Increase  its  market  value,  and  besides  have  the  advantage  of  any  rise  in 
the  value  of  real  estate.  It  is  not  often  that  such  a  generous  offer  is  made  to  working  men. 
It  is  a  loan  on  what  would  be  generally  considered  inadequate  security,  at  six  per  cent.,  at  a 
time  when  a  much  better  use  of  money  can  be  made  by  any  capitalist.  It  is  therefore  gen- 
erous. Mr.  Barnum  may  make  money  by  the  operation.  Very  well,  perhaps  he  will,  but  if 
he  does,  it  will  be  by  making  others  richer,  not  poorer;  by  helping  those  who  need  assist- 
ance, not  by  hindering  them,  and  we  can  only  wish  that  every  rich  man  would  follow  such 
a  noble  example,  and  thus,  without  injury  to  themselves,  give  a  helping  hand  to  those  who 
need  it.  Success  to  the  enterprise.  We  hope  that  fifty  men  will  be  found  before  the  week 
ends,  each  of  whom  desires  in  such  a  manner  to  obtain  a  roof  which  he  can  call  his  own.' 

Quite  a  number  of  men  at  once  availed  themselves  of  my  offer,  and  eventually 
succeeded  in  paying  for  their  homes  without  much  effort.  I  am  sorry  to  add, 
that  rent  is  still  paid,  month  after  month,  by  many  men  who  would  long  ago 
have  owned  neat  homesteads,  free  from  all  incumbrances,  if  they  had  accepted 
my  proposals,  and  had  signed  and  kept  the  temperance  pledge,  and  given  up  the 
use  of  tobacco.  The  money  they  have  since  expended  for  whisky  and  tobacco, 
would  have  given  them  a  house  of  their  own,  if  the  money  had  been  devoted  to 
that  object,  and  their  positions,  socially  and  morally,  would  have  been  far  better 
than  they  are  to-day.  How  many  infatuated  men  there  are  in  all  parts  of  the 
country,  who  could  now  be  independent,  and  even  owners  of  their  own  carriages, 
but  for  their  slavery  to  these  miserable  habits  ! 

The  land  in  East  Bridgeport  was  originally  purchased  by  me  at  from  $50  to  $75, 
and  from  those  sums  to  $300  per  acre;  and  the  average  cost  of  all  I  bought  on 
that  side  of  the  river  was  $200  per  acre.  Some  portions  of  this  land  are  now 
assessed  in  the  Bridgeport  tax-list  at  from  $3.000  to  $4,000  per  acre.  At  the  time 
I  joined  Mi-.  Noble  in  this  enterprise,  the  site  we  purchased  was  not  a  part  of  the 
city  of  Bridgeport.  It  is  now,  however,  a  most  important  section  of  the  city, 
and  the  three  bridges  connecting  the  two  banks  of  the  river,  and  originally  char- 
tered as  toll-bridges,  have  been  bought  by  the  city  and  thrown  open  as  free 
highways  to  the  public.  A  horse  railroad,  in  which  I  took  one-tenth  part  of  the 
stock,  connects  the  two  portions  of  the  city,  extending  westerly  beyond  Iranistan 
and  Lindencroft,  while  a  branch  road  runs  to  the  beautiful  "  Sea-side  Park"  on 
the  Sound  shore. 

General  Noble,  in  laying  out  the  first  portion  of  our  new  city,  named  several 
streets  after  members  of  his  own  family,  and  also  of  mine.  Hence,  we  have  a 
"  Noble  "  street — and  a  noble  street  it  is;  a  "Barnum"  street;  while  other  streets 
are  named  "  William,"  from  Mr  Noble;  "Harriet,"  the  Christian  name  of  Mrs. 
Noble;  "Hallett,"  the  maiden  name  of  my  wife;  and  "Caroline,"  "Helen,"  and 
"  Pauline,"  the  names  of  my  three  daughters.  There  is  also  the  "  Barnum  School 
District "  and  school-house ;  so  that  it  seems  as  if,  for  a  few  scores  of  years  at 
least,  posterity  would  know  who  were  the  founders  of  the  new,  flourishing  and 
beautiful  city.  We  have  yet  another  enduring  and  ever-growing  monument  in 
the  many  thousands  of  trees  which  we  set  out,  and  which  now  line  and  gratefully 
shade  the  streets  of  East  Bridgeport. 

Three  handsome  churches,  Methodist,  Episcopal  and  Congregational,  front  on 
the  beautiful  Washington  Park  of  seven  acres,  which  Mr.  Noble  and  myself  pre- 
sented to  the  city.  Som.e  of  the  largest  and  most  prosperous  manufactories  in 
the  United  States  are  located  in  the  new  city. 


210  EAST 

The  entire  city  of  Bridgeport  is  advancing  in  population  and  prosperity  with  a 
rapidity  far  beyond  that  of  any  other  city  in  Connecticut,  and  everything  indi- 
cates that  it  will  soon  take  its  proper  position  as  the  second,  if  not  the  first,  city  in 
the  State.  Its  situation  as  the  terminus  of  the  Naugatuck  and  the  Housatonic  rail- 
ways, its  accessibility  to  New  York,  with  its  two  daily  steamboats  to  and  from 
the  metropolis,  and  its  dozen  daily  trains  of  the  New  York  and  Boston  and  Shore 
Line  railways,  are  all  elements  of  prosperity  which  are  rapidly  telling  in  favor  of 
this  busy,  beautiful  and  charming  city. 


CHAPTER    XXXVI. 

MORE  ABOUT  THE  MUSEUM. 

lie  1861,  I  lean  led  that  some  fishermen  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence  had 
succeeded  in  capturing  a  living  white  whale,  and  I  was  also  inf  ormed  that  a  whale 
of  this  kind,  if  placed  in  a  box  lined  with  sea-weed  and  partially  filled  with  salt 
water,  could  be  transported  by  land  to  a  considerable  distance,  and  be  kept  alive. 
It  was  simply  necessary  that  an  attendant,  supplied  with  a  barrel  of  salt  water 
and  a  sponge,  should  keep  the  mouth  and  blow-hole  of  the  whale  constantly 
moist. 

Having  made  up  my  mind  to  capture  and  transport  to  my  Museum  at  least  two 
living  whales,  I  prepared  in  the  basement  of  the  building  a  brick  and  cement 
tank,  forty  feet  long,  and  eighteen  feet  wide,  for  their  reception.  This  done,  I 
started  upon  my  whaling  expedition.  Going  by  rail  to  Quebec,  and  thence  by 
the  Grand  Trunk  Railroad,  ninety  miles,  to  Wells  river,  I  chartered  a  sloop  to 
Elbow  island  (Isle  au  Coudres),  in  the  St.  Lawrence  river,  populated  by  Canadian 
French  people.  I  contracted  with  a  party  of  twenty-four  fishermen,  to  capture 
for  me,  alive  and  unharmed,  a  couple  of  white  whales,  scores  of  which  could  at 
all  times  be  discovered  by  their  "  spouting  "  within  sight  of  the  island.* 

The  plan  decided  upon  was  to  plant  in  the  river  a  "kraal,"  composed  of  stakes 
driven  down  in  the  form  of  a  V,  leaving  the  broad  end  open  for  the  whales  to 
enter.  This  was  done  in  a  shallow  place,  with  the  point  of  the  kraal  towards 
shore;  and  if  by  chance  one  or  more  whales  should  enter  the  trap  at  high  water, 
my  fishermen  were  to  occupy  the  entrance  with  their  boats,  and  keep  up  a  tre- 
mendous splashing  and  noise  till  the  tide  receded,  when  the  frightened  whales 
wo\ild  find  themselves  nearly  "  high  and  dry,"  or  with  too  little  water  to  enable 
them  to  swim,  and  their  capture  would  be  next  thing  in  order.  This  was  to  be 
effected  by  securing  a  slip-noose  of  stout  rope  over  their  tails,  and  towing  them 
to  the  sea-weed  lined  boxes  in  which  they  were  to  be  transported  to  New  York. 

It  was  aggravating  to  see  the  whales  glide  so  near  the  trap  without  going  into 
it,  and  our  patience  was  sorely  tried.  One  day  a  whale  actually  went  into  the 
kraal,  and  the  fishermen  proposed  to  capture  it ;  but  I  wanted  another,  and  while 
we  waited  for  number  two  to  go  in  number  one  went  out.  After  several  days  I 
was  awakened  at  daylight  by  a  great  noise,  and  amid  the  clamor  of  many  voices, 
I  caught  the  cheering  news  that  two  whales  were  even  then  within  the  kraal. 
Leaving  the  details  of  capture  and  transportation  to  my  trusty  assistants,  I 
started  at  once  for  New  York,  leaving  at  every  station  on  the  line  instructions  to 
telegraph  operators  to  "take  off"  all  whaling  messages  that  passed  over  the  wires 
to  New  York,  and  to  inform  their  fellow-townsmen  at  what  hour  the  whales 
would  pass  through  each  place. 

The  result  of  these  arrangements  may  be  imagined;  at  every  station  crowds  of 
people  came  to  the  cars  to  see  the  whales  which  were  traveling  by  land  to  Bar- 
num's  Museum,  and  those  who  did  not  see  the  monsters  with  their  own  eyes,  at 

*  See  Illustration,  page  216. 

211 


212  MORE  ABOUT  THE  MUSEUM. 

least  saw  some  one  who  had  seen  them,  and  I  thus  secured  a  tremendous  adver- 
tisement, seven  hundred  miles  long,  for  the  American  Museum. 

Arrived  in  New  York,  despatches  continued  to  come  from  the  whaling  expe- 
dition every  few  hours.  These  I  bulletined  in  front  of  the  Museum  and  sent 
copies  to  the  papers.  The  excitement  was  intense,  and,  when  at  last,  these  marine 
monsters  arrived  and  were  swimming  in  the  tank  that  had  been  prepared  for 
them,  anxious  thousands  literally  rushed  to  see  the  strangest  curiosities  ever 
exhibited  in  New  York 

Thus  was  my  first  whaling  expedition  a  great  success;  but  I  did  not  know  how 
to  feed  or  to  take  care  of  the  monsters,  and,  moreover,  they  were  in  fresh  water, 
and  this,  with  the  bad  air  in  the  basement,  may  have  hastened  their  death,  which 
occurred  a  few  days  after  their  arrival,  but  not  before  thousands  of  people  had 
seen  them.  Not  at  all  discouraged,  I  resolved  to  try  again.  My  plan  now  was 
to  connect  the  water  of  New  York  bay  with  the  basement  of  the  Museum  by 
means  of  iron  pipes  under  the  street,  and  a  steam  engine  on  the  dock  to  pump 
the  water.  This  I  actually  did  at  a  cost  of  several  thousand  dollars,  with  an 
extra  thousand  to  the  aldermanic  "ring"  for  the  privilege,  and  I  constructed 
another  tank  in  the  second  floor  of  the  building.  This  tank  was  built  of  slate  and 
French  glass  plates  six  feet  long,  five  feet  broad,  and  one  inch  thick,  imported 
expressly  for  the  purpose,  and  the  tank,  when  completed,  was  twenty-four  feet 
square,  and  cost  $4,000.  It  was  kept  constantly  supplied  with  what  would  be 
called ,  Hibernically,  "  fresh"  salt  water,  and  inside  of  it  I  soon  had  two  white 
whales,  caught,  as  the  first  had  been,  hundreds  of  miles  below  Quebec,  to  which 
city  they  were  carried  by  a  sailing  vessel,  and  from  thence  were  brought  by 
railway  to  New  York. 

Of  this  whole  enterprise,  I  confess  I  was  very  proud  that  I  "had  originated  it 
and  brought  it  to  such  successful  conclusion.  It  was  a  very  great  sensation,  and 
it  added  thousands  of  dollars  to  my  treasury.  The  whales,  however,  soon  died  — 
their  sudden  and  immense  popularity  was  too  much  for  them — and  I  then 
despatched  agents  to  the  coast  of  Labrador,  and  not  many  weeks  thereafter  I  had 
two  more  live  whales  disporting  themselves  in  my  monster  aquarium.  Certain 
envious  people  started  the  report  that  my  whales  were  only  porpoises,  but  this 
petty  malice  was  turned  to  good  account,  for  Professor  Agassiz,  of  Harvard  Uni- 
versity, came  to  see  them,  and  gave  me  a  certificate  that  they  were  genuine  white 
whales,  and  this  endorsement  I  published  far  and  wide. 

The  tank  which  I  had  built  in  the  basement  served  for  a  yet  more  interesting 
exhibition.  On  the  twelfth  of  August,  1861,  I  began  to  exhibit  the  first  and  only 
geruine  hippopotamus  that  had  ever  been  seen  in  America,  and  for  several  weeks 
the  Museum  was  thronged  by  the  curious  who  came  to  see  the  monster.  I  adver- 
tised him  extensively  and  ingeniously,  as  "  the  great  behemoth  of  the  Scriptures," 
giving  a  full  description  of  the  animal  and  his  habits,  and  thousands  of  cultivated 
people,  biblical  students,  and  others,  were  attracted  to  this  novel  exhibition. 
There  was  quite  as  much  excitement  in  the  city  over  this  wonder  in  the  animal 
creation  as  there  was  in  London  when  the  first  hippopotamus  was  placed  in  the 
zoological  collection  in  Regent's  Park. 

Having  a  stream  of  salt  water  at  my  command  at  every  high  tide,  I  was 
enabled  to  make  splendid  additions  to  the  beautiful  aquarium,  which  I  was  the 
first  to  introduce  into  this  country.  I  not  only  procured  living  sharks,  porpoises, 
sea  horses,  and  many  rare  fish  from  the  sea  hi  the  vicinity  of  New  York,  but  in 
the  summer  of  1861,  and  for  several  summers  in  succession,  I  despatched  a  fishing 
smack  and  crew  to  the  Islands  of  Bermuda  and  its  neighborhood,  whence  they 


MORE   ABOUT  THE  MUSEUM.  213 

brought  scores  of  specimens  of  the  beautiful  "angel  fish,"  and  numerous  other 
tropical  fish  of  brilliant  colors  and  unique  forms.  In  the  same  year,  I  bought 
out  the  Aquaria!  Gardens  in  Boston,  and  soon  after  removed  the  collection  to  the 
Museum. 

In  December,  1861,  I  made  one  of  my  most  "palpable  hits."  I  was  visited  at 
the  Museum  by  a  most  remarkable  dwarf,  who  was  a  sharp,  intelligent  little 
fellow,  with  a  deal  of  drollery  and  wit.  He  had  a  splendid  head,  was  perfectly 
formed,  and  was  very  attractive,  and,  in  short,  for  a  "showman,"  he  was  a  per- 
fect treasure.  His  name,  he  told  me,  was  George  Washington  Morrison  Nutt, 
and  his  father  was  Major  Rodnia  Nutt,  a  substantial  farmer,  of  Manchester,  New 
Hampshire.  I  was  not  long  in  despatching  an  efficient  agent  to  Manchester,  and 
in  overcoming  the  competition  with  other  showmen  who  were  equally  eager  to 
secure  this  extraordinary  pigmy.  The  terms  upon  which  I  engaged  him  for  three 
years  were  so  large  that  he  was  christened  the  $30,000  Nutt;  I,  in  the  meantime, 
conferring  upon  him  the  title  of  Commodore.  As  soon  as  I  engaged  him,  placards, 
posters  and  the  columns  of  the  newspapers  proclaimed  the  presence  of  "  Commo- 
dore Nutt,"  at  the  Museum.  I  also  procured  for  the  Commodore  a  pair  of  Shet- 
land ponies,  miniature  coachman  and  footman,  in  livery,  gold-mounted  harness, 
and  an  elegant  little  carriage,  which,  when  closed,  represented  a  gigantic  English 
walnut.  The  little  Commodore  attracted  great  attention,  and  grew  rapidly  in 
public  favor.  General  Tom  Thumb  was  then  traveling  in  the  South  and  West. 
For  some  years  he  had  not  been  exhibited  in  New  York,  and  during  these  years 
he  had  increased  considerably  in  rotundity  and  had  changed  much  in  his  general 
appearance.  It  was  a  singular  fact,  however,  that  Commodore  Nutt  was  almost 
a  fao-simile  of  General  Tom  Thumb,  as  he  looked  half-a-dozen  years  before. 
Consequently,  very  many  of  my  patrons,  not  making  allowance  for  the  time 
which  had  elapsed  since  they  had  last  seen  the  General,  declared  that  there  was 
no  such  person  as  "  Commodore  Nutt; "  but  that  I  was  exhibiting  my  old  friend 
Tom  Thumb  under  a  new  name. 

Commodore  Nutt  enjoyed  the  joke  very  much.  He  would  sometimes  half 
admit  the  deception,  simply  to  add  to  the  bewilderment  of  the  doubting  portion 
of  my  visitors. 

It  was  evident  that  here  was  an  opportunity  to  turn  all  doubts  into  hard  cash, 
by  simply  bringing  the  two  dwarf  Dromios  together,  and  showing  them  on  the 
same  platform.  I  therefore  induced  Tom  Thumb  to  bring  his  western  engage- 
ments to  a  close,  and  to  appear  for  four  weeks,  beginning  with  August  11,  1862, 
in  my  Museum.  Announcements  headed  "The  Two  Dromios,"  and  "Two 
Smallest  Men,  and  Greatest  Curiosities  Living,"  as  I  expected,  drew  large  crowds 
to  see  them,  and  many  came  especially  to  solve  their  doubts  with  regard  to  the 
genuineness  of  the  "  Nutt."  But  here  I  was  considerably  nonplussed,  for  aston- 
ishing as  it  may  seem,  the  doubts  of  many  of  the  visitors  were  confirmed !  The 
sharp  people  who  were  determined  "not  to  be  humbugged,  anyhow,"  still 
declared  that  Commodore  Nutt  was  General  Tom  Thumb,  and  that  the  little 
fellow  whom  I  was  trying  to  pass  off  as  Tom  Thumb,  was  no  more  like  the  Gen- 
eral than  he  was  like  the  man  in  the  moon.  It  is  very  amusing  to  see  how  people 
will  sometimes  deceive  themselves  by  being  too  incredulous. 

In  1862,  I  sent  the  Commodore  to  Washington,  and,  joining  him  there,  I 
received  an  invitation  from  President  Lincoln  to  call  at  the  White  House  with 
my  little  friend.  Arriving  at  the  appointed  hour,  I  was  informed  that  the  Presi- 
dent was  in  a  special  cabinet  meeting,  but  that  he  had  left  word  if  I  called  to  l>e 
shown  in  to  him  with  the  Commodore.  These  were  dark  days  in  the  rebellion 


214  MORE   ABOUT  THE   MUSEUM. 

and  1  felt  that  my  visit,  if  not  ill-timed,  must  at  all  events  be  brief.  When  we 
were  admitted,  Mr.  Lincoln  received  us  cordially,  and  introduced  us  to  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Cabinet.  When  Mr.  Chase  was  introduced  as  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  the  little  Commodore  remarked: 

"  I  suppose  you  are  the  gentleman  who  is  spending  so  much  of  Uncle  Sam's 
money?" 

"  No,  indeed,"  said  Secretary  of  War  Stanton,  very  promptly:  "  I  am  spending 
the  money." 

"Well,"  said  Commodore  Nutt,  "it  is  in  a  good  cause,  anyhow,  and  I  guess  it 
will  come  out  all  right." 

His  apt  remark  created  much  amusement.  Mr.  Lincoln  then  bent  down  his 
long,  lank  body,  and  taking  Nutt  by  the  hand,  he  said: 

"  Commodore,  permit  me  to  give  you  a  parting  word  of  advice.  When  you 
are  in  command  of  your  fleet,  if  you  find  yourself  in  danger  of  being  taken 
prisoner,  I  advise  you  to  wade  ashore." 

The  Commodore  found  the  laugh  was  against  him,  but  placing  himself  at  the 
side  of  the  President,  and  gradually  raising  his  eyes  up  the  whole  length  of  Mr. 
Lincoln's  very  long  legs,  he  replied: 

"I  guess,  Mr.  President,  you  could  do  that  better  than  I  could." 

Commodore  Nutt  and  the  Nova  Scotia  giantess,  Anna  Swan,  illustrate  the 
old  proverb  sufficiently  to  show  how  extremes  occasionally  met  in  my  Museum. 
He  was  the  shortest  of  men  and  she  was  the  tallest  of  women.  I  first  heard  of 
her  through  a  Quaker  who  came  into  my  office  one  day  and  told  me  of  a  wonder- 
ful girl,  seventeen  years  of  age,  who  resided  near  him  at  Pictou,  Nova  Scotia, 
and  who  was  probably  the  tallest  girl  in  the  world.  I  asked  him  to  obtain  her 
exact  height,  on  his  return  home,  which  he  did,  and  sent  it  to  me,  and  I  at  once 
sent  an  agent  who  in  due  time  came  back  with  Anna  Swan.  She  was  an  intelli- 
gent and  by  no  means  ill-looking  girl,  and  during  the  long  period  while  she  was 
in  my  employ,  she  was  visited  by  thousands  of  persons.  After  the  burning  of 
my  second  Museum,  she  went  to  England  where  she  attracted  great  attention. 

For  many  years  I  had  been  in  the  habit  of  engaging  parties  of  American 
Indians  from  the  far  west,  to  exhibit  at  the  Museum,  and  had  sent  two  or  more 
Indian  companies  to  Europe,  where  they  were  regarded  as  very  great  "  curiosi- 
ties." In  1864,  ten  or  twelve  chiefs  of  as  many  different  tribes,  visited  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  at  Washington.  By  a  pretty  liberal  outlay  of 
money,  I  succeeded  in  inducing  the  interpreter  to  bring  them  to  New  York,  and 
to  pass  some  days  at  my  Museum.  Of  course,  getting  these  Indians  to  dance,  or 
to  give  any  illustration  of  their  games  or  pastimes,  was  out  of  the  question. 
They  were  real  chiefs  of  powerful  tribes,  and  would  no  more  have  consented  to 
give  an  exhibition  of  themselves  than  the  chief  magistrate  of  our  own  nation 
would  have  done.  Their  interpreter  could  not  therefore  promise  that  they  would 
remain  at  the  Museum  for  any  definite  time;  "for,"  said  he,  "you  can  only  keep 
them  just  so  long  as  they  suppose  all  your  patrons  come  to  pay  them  visits 
of  honor.  If  they  suspected  that  your  Museum  was  a  place  where  people  paid 
for  entering,"  he  continued,  "you  could  not  keep  them  a  moment  after  the 
discovery." 

On  their  arrival  at  the  Museum,  therefore,  I  took  them  upon  the  stage  and  per- 
sonally introduced  them  to  the  public.  The  Tnrh>ns  liked  this  attention  from  me, 
as  they  had  been  informed  that  I  was  the  proprietor  of  the  great  establishment 
in  which  they  were  invited  and  honored  guests.  My  patrons  were  of  course 
pleased  to  see  these  old  chiefs,  as  they  knew  they  were  the  "real  thing,"  and 


MORE   ABOUT  THE   MUSEUM.  215 

several  of  them  were  known  to  the  public,  either  as  being  friendly  or  cruel  to 
the  whites.  After  one  or  two  appearances  on  the  stage,  I  took  them  in  carriages 
and  visited  the  Mayor  of  New  York  in  the  Governor's  room  at  the  City  HalL 
Here  the  Mayor  made  them  a  speech  of  welcome,  which  being  interpreted  to  the 
savages  was  responded  to  by  a  speech  from  one  of  the  chiefs,  in  which  he  thanked 
the  great  "Father"  of  the  city  for  his  pleasant  words,  and  for  his  kindness 
in  pointing  out  the  portraits  of  his  predecessors  hanging  on  the  walls  of  the 
Governor's  room. 

On  another  occasion,  I  took  them  by  special  invitation  to  visit  one  of  the  large 
public  schools  up  town.  The  teachers  were  pleased  to  see  them,  and  arranged  an 
exhibition  of  special  exercises  by  the  scholars,  which  they  thought  would  be  most 
likely  to  gratify  their  barbaric  visitors.  At  the  close  of  these  exercises,  one  old 
chief  arose,  and  simply  said,  "  This  is  all  new  to  us.  We  are  mere  unlearned  sons 
of  the  forest,  and  cannot  understand  what  we  have  seen  and  heard." 

On  other  occasions,  I  took  them  to  ride  in  Central  Park,  and  through  different 
portions  of  the  city.  At  every  street  corner  which  we  passed,  they  would 
express  their  astonishment  to  each  other,  at  seeing  the  long  rows  of  houses  which 
extended  both  ways  on  either  side  of  each  cross-street.  Of  course,  between  each 
of  these  outside  visits  I  would  return  with  them  to  the  Museum,  and  secure  two 
or  three  appearances  upon  the  stage  to  receive  the  people  who  had  there  congre- 
gated "to  do  them  honor." 

As  they  regarded  me  as  their  host,  they  did  not  hesitate  to  trespass  upon  my 
hospitality.  Whenever  their  eyes  rested  upon  a  glittering  shell  among  my  speci- 
mens of  conchology,  especially  if  it  had  several  brilliant  colors,  one  would  take 
off  his  coat,  another  his  shirt,  and  insist  that  I  should  exchange  my  shell  for  their 
garment.  When  I  declined  the  exchange,  but  on  the  contrary  presented  them 
with  the  coveted  article,  I  -soon  found  I  had  established  a  dangerous  precedent. 
Immediately,  they  all  commenced  to  beg  for  everything  in  my  vast  collection, 
which  they  happened  to  take  a  liking  to.  This  cost  me  many  valuable  specimens, 
and  often  ' '  put  me  to  my  trumps  "  for  an  excuse  to  avoid  giving  them  things  which 
I  could  not  part  with. 

The  chief  of  one  of  the  tribes  one  day  discovered  an  ancient  shirt  of  chain- 
mail  which  hung  in  one  of  my  cases  of  antique  armor.  He  was  delighted  with  it, 
and  declared  he  must  have  it.  I  tried  all  sorts  of  excuses  to  prevent  his  getting 
it,  for  it  had  cost  me  a  hundred  dollars,  and  was  a  great  curiosity.  But  the  old 
man's  eyes  glistened,  and  he  would  not  take  "no"  for  an  answer.  "The  Utes 
have  killed  my  little  child,"  he  told  me  through  the  interpreter;  and  now  he  must 
have  this  steel  shirt  to  protect  himself;  and  when  he  returned  to  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains he  would  have  his  revenge.  I  remained  inexorable  until  he  ftnalJy  brought 
me  a  new  buckskin  Indian  suit,  which  he  insisted  upon  exchanging.  I  felt  com- 
pelled to  accept  his  proposal ;  and  never  did  I  see  a  man  more  delighted  than  he 
seemed  to  be  when  he  took  the  mailed  shirt  into  his  hands.  He  fairly  jumped  up 
and  down  with  joy.  He  ran  to  his  lodging-room,  and  soon  appeared  again  with 
the  coveted  armor  upon  his  body,  and  marched  down  one  of  the  main  halls  of  the 
Museum,  with  folded  arms,  and  head  erect,  occasionally  patting  his  breast  with 
hip  right  hand,  as  much  as  to  say,  "now,  Mr.  Ute,  look  sharp,  for  I  will  soon  be 
on  the  war  path  ! " 

Among  these  Indians  were  War  Bonnet,  Lean  Bear,  and  Hand-in-the-water, 
chiefs  of  the  Cheyennes;  Yellow  Buffalo,  of  the  Kiowas;  Yellow  Bear,  of  the 
same  tribe;  Jacob,  of  the  Caddos;  and  White  Bull,  of  the  Apaches.  The  h'ttle 
wiry  chief  known  as  Yellow  Bear  had  killed  many  whites  as  they  had  traveled 


216  MORE   ABOUT   THE   MUSEUM 

through  the  "far  west"  He  was  a  sly,  treacherous,  blood-thirsty  savage,  who 
would  think  no  more  of  scalping  a  family  of  women  and  children,  than  a  butchei 
would  of  wringing  the  neck  of  a  chicken.  But  now  he  was  on  a  mission  to  the 
"  Great  Father  "  at  Washington,  seeking  for  presents  and  favors  for  his  tribe,  and 
he  pretended  to  be  exceedingly  meek  and  humble,  and  continually  urged  the 
interpreter  to  announce  him  as  a  "  great  friend  to  the  white  man."  He  would 
fawn  about  me,  and  although  not  speaking  or  understanding  a  word  of  our  lan- 
guage, would  try  to  convince  me  that  he  loved  me  dearly. 

In  exhibiting  these  Indian  warriors  on  the  stage,  I  explained  to  the  large  audi- 
ences the  names  and  characteristics  of  each.  When  I  came  to  Yellow  Bear  I 
would  pat  him  familiarly  upon  the  shoulder,  which  always  caused  him  to  look  up 
to  me  with  a  pleasant  smile,  while  he  softly  stroked  down  my  arm  with  his  right 
hand  in  the  most  loving  manner.  Knowing  that  he  could  not  understand  a  word 
I  said,  I  pretended  to  be  complimenting  him  to  the  audience,  while  I  was  really 
saying  something  Hke  the  following: 

"  This  little  Indian,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  is  Yellow  Bear,  chief  of  the  Kiowas. 
He  has  killed,  no  doubt,  scores  of  white  persons,  and  he  is  probably  the  meanest, 
black-hearted  rascal  that  lives  in  the  far  west."  Here  I  patted  him  on  the  head, 
and  he,  supposing  I  was  sounding  his  praises,  would  smile,  fawn  upon  me,  and 
stroke  my  arm,  while  I  continued:  "  If  the  blood-thirsty  little  villain  understood 
what  I  was  saying,  he  would  kill  me  in  a  moment;  but  as  he  thinks  I  am  compli 
menting  him,  I  can  safely  state  the  truth  to  you,  that  he  is  a  lying,  thieving, 
treacherous,  murderous  monster.  He  has  tortured  to  death  poor,  unprotected 
women,  murdered  their  husbands,  brained  their  helpless  little  ones ;  and  he  would 
gladly  do  the  same  to  you  or  to  me,  if  he  thought  he  could  escape  punishment. 
This  is  but  a  faint  description  of  the  character  of  Yellow  Bear."  Here  I  gave 
him  another  patronizing  pat  on  the  head,  and  he,  with  a  pleasant  smile,  bowed  to 
the  audience,  as  much  as  to  say  that  my  words  were  quite  true,  and  that  he 
thanked  me  very  much  for  the  high  encomiums  I  had  so  generously  heaped  upou 
him. 

After  they  had  been  about  a  week  at  the  Museum,  one  of  the  chiefs  discovered 
that  visitors  paid  money  for  entering.  This  information  he  soon  communicated 
to  the  other  chiefs,  and  I  heard  an  immediate  murmur  of  discontent.  Their  eyes 
were  opened,  and  no  power  could  induce  them  to  appear  again  upon  the  stage. 
Their  dignity  had  been  offended,  and  then-  wild,  flashing  eyes  were  anything  but 
agreeable.  Indeed,  I  hardly  felt  safe  in  their  presence,  and  it  was  with  a  feeling 
of  relief  that  I  witnessed  their  departure  for  Washington  the  next  morning. 


CHAPTER    XXXVII. 

MB.   AND   MRS.   GENERAL  TOM  THUMB. 

IN  1863  1  heard  of  an  extraordinary  dwarf  girl,  named  Lavinia  Warren,  who 
was  residing  with  her  parents  at  Middleboro',  Massachusetts,  and  I  sent  an  invi- 
tation to  her  and  her  parents  to  conie  and  visit  me  at  Bridgeport.  They  came, 
and  I  found  her  to  be  a  most  intelligent  and  refined  young  lady,  well  educated, 
and  an  accomplished,  beautiful  and  perfectly  developed  woman  in  miniature.  I 
succeeded  in  making  an  engagement  with  her  for  several  years,  during  which  she 
contracted — as  dwarfs  are  said  to  have  the  power  to  do — to  visit  Great  Britain, 
France,  and  other  foreign  lands. 

Having  arranged  the  terms  of  her  engagement,  I  took  her  to  the  house  of  one 
of  my  daughters  in  New  York,  where  she  remained  quietly,  while  I  was  proem- 
ing  her  wardrobe  and  jewelry,  and  making  arrangements  for  her  debut. 

I  purchased  a  very  splendid  wardrobe  for  Mies  Warren,  including  scores  of  the 
richest  dresses  that  could  be  procured,  costly  jewels,  and  in  fact  everything  that 
could  add  to  the  charms  of  her  naturally  charming  little  person.  She  was  then 
placed  on  exhibition  at  the  Museum,  and  from  the  day  of  her  debut  she  was 
an  extraordinary  success.  Commodore  Nutt  was  on  exhibition  with  her,  and 
although  he  was  several  years  her  junior,  he  evidently  took  a  great  fancy  to  her. 
One  day  I  presented  to  Lavinia  a  diamond  and  emerald  ring,  and  as  it  did  not 
exactly  fit  her  finger,  I  told  her  I  would  give  her  another  one  and  that  she  might 
present  this  one  to  the  Commodore  in  her  own  name.  She  did  so,  and  an  unlooked- 
for  effect  was  speedily  apparent;  the  little  Commodore  felt  sure  that  this  was  a 
love-token,  and  poor  Lavinia  was  in  the  greatest  trouble,  for  she  considered  herself 
quite  a  woman,  and  regarded  the  Commodore  only  as  a  nice  little  boy.  But  she 
did  not  like  to  offend  him,  and  while  she  did  not  encourage,  she  did  not  openly 
repel  his  attentions.  Miss  Lavinia  Warren,  however,  was  never  destined  to  be 
Mrs.  Commodore  Nutt. 

It  was  by  no  means  an  unnatural  circumstance  that  I  should  be  suspected  of 
having  instigated  and  brought  about  the  marriage  of  Tom  Thumb  with  Lavinia 
Warren.  Had  I  done  this,  I  should  at  this  day  have  felt  no  regrets,  for  it  has 
proved,  in  an  eminent  degree,  one  of  the  "happy  marriages."  I  only  say,  what 
is  known  to  all  of  their  immediate  friends,  that  from  first  to  last  their  engage- 
ment was  an  affair  of  the  heart — a  case  of  "love  at  first  sight" — that  the  attach- 
ment was  mutual,  and  that  it  only  grows  with  the  lapse  of  time.  But  I  had 
neither  part  nor  lot  in  instigating  or  in  occasioning  the  marriage.  And  as  I  am 
anxious  to  be  put  right  before  the  public,  I  have  procured  the  consent  of  all  the 
parties  to  a  sketch  of  the  wooing,  winning  and  nuptials.  Of  course  I  should  not 
lay  these  details  before  the  public,  except  with  the  sanction  of  those  most  inter- 
ested. In  this  they  consent  to  pay  the  penalty  of  distinction.  And  if  the  wooings 
of  kings  and  queens  must  be  told,  why  not  the  courtship  and  marriage  of  General 
and  Mrs.  Tom  Thumb  ?  The  story  is  an  interesting  one,  and  shall  be  told  alike  to 
^exonerate  me  from  the  suspicion  named,  and  to  amuse  those — and  they  count  by 
scores  of  thousands  —  who  are  interested  in  the  welfare  of  the  distinguished 
couple. 

10  217 


218         MR.  AND  MKS.  GENERAL  TOM  THUMB. 

In  the  autumn  of  1802,  when  Lavinia  Warren  was  on  exhibition  at  the  Museum, 
Tom  Thumb  had  no  business  engagement  with  me;  in  fact,  he  was  not  on  exhibi- 
tion at  the  time  at  all;  he  was  taking  a  "vacation"  at  his  house  in  Bridgeport. 
Whenever  he  came  to  New  York  he  naturally  called  upon  me,  his  old  friend,  at 
the  Museum.  He  happened  to  be,  in  the  city  at  the  time  referred  to,  and  one  day 
he  called,  quite  unexpectedly  to  me,  while  Lavinia  was  holding  one  of  her  levees. 
Here  he  now  saw  her  for  the  first  time,  and  very  naturally  made  her  acquaintance 
He  had  a  short  interview  with  her,  after  which  he  came  directly  to  my  private 
office  and  desired  to  see  me  alone.  Of  course  I  complied  with  his  request,  but 
without  the  remotest  suspicion  as  to  his  object  I  closed  the  door,  and  the  Gen- 
eral took  a  seat.  His  first  question  let  in  the  light.  He  inquired  about  the  family 
of  Lavinia  Warren.  I  gave  him  the  facts,  which  I  clearly  perceived  gave  him 
satisfaction  of  a  peculiar  sort.  He  then  said,  with  great  frankness,  and  with  no 
less  earnestness: 

"  Mr.  Barnum,  that  is  the  most  Charming  little  lady  I  ever  saw,  and  I  believe 
she  was  created  on  purpose  to  be  my  wife !  Now,"  he  continued,  "you  have 
always  been  a  friend  of  mine,  and  I  want  you  to  say  a  good  word  for  me  to  her. 
I  have  got  plenty  of  money,  and  I  want  to  marry  and  settle  down  in  life,  and 
I  really  feel  as  if  I  must  marry  that  young  lady." 

The  little  General  was  highly  excited,  and  his  general  manner  betrayed  the 
usual  anxiety,  which,  I  doubt  not,  most  of  my  readers  will  understand  without  a 
description.  I  could  not  repress  a  smile,  nor  forget  my  joke,  and  I  said: 

"Lavinia  is  engaged  already." 

"To  whom — Commodore  Nutt?"  asked  Tom  Thumb,  with  much  earnestness, 
and  some  exhibition  of  the  "green-eyed  monster." 

"  No,  General,  to  me,"  I  replied. 

"Never  mind,"  said  the  General,  laughing,  "you  can  exhibit  her  for  a  while, 
and  then  give  up  the  engagement;  but  I  do  hope  you  will  favor  my  suit  with  her." 

"  Well,  General,"  I  replied,  "  I  will  not  oppose  you  in  your  suit,  but  you  must 
do  your  own  courting.  I  tell  you,  however,  the  Commodore  will  be  jealous  of 
you,  and  more  than  that,  Miss  Warren  is  nobody's  fool,  and  you  will  have  to 
proceed  very  cautiously  if  you  can  succeed  in  winning  her  affections." 

The  General  thanked  me,  and  promised  to  be  very  discreet.  A  change  now 
came  suddenly  over  him  in  several  particulars.  He  had  been  (much  to  his  credit) 
very  fond  of  his  country  home  in  Bridgeport,  where  he  spent  his  intervals  of  rest 
with  his  horses,  and  especially  with  his  yacht,  for  his  fondness  for  the  water  was 
his  great  passion.  But  now  he  was  constantly  having  occasion  to  visit  the  city, 
and  horses  and  yachts  were  strangely  neglected.  He  had  a  married  sister  in  New 
York,  and  his  visits  to  her  multiplied,  for,  of  course,  he  came  to  New  York  "to 
fc.ee  his  sister  ! "  His  mother,  who  resided  in  Bridgeport,  remarked  that  Charles 
had  never  before  shown  so  much  brotherly  affection,  nor  so  much  fondness  for 
city  life. 

His  visits  to  the  Museum  were  very  frequent,  and  it  was  noticeable  that  new 
relations  were  being  established  between  him  and  Commodore  Nutt.  The  Com- 
modore was  not  exactly  jealous,  yet  he  strutted  around  like  a  bantam  rooster 
whenever  the  General  approached  Lavinia,  One  day  he  and  the  General  got  into 
a  friendly  scuffle  in  the  dressing-room,  and  the  Commodore  threw  the  General 
upon  his  back  in  "  double  quick  "  time.  The  Commodore  is  lithe,  wiry,  and  quick 
in  his  movements,  but  the  General  is  naturally  slow,  and  although  he  was  con- 
siderably heavier  than  the  Commodore,  he  soon  found  that  he  could  not  stand 
before  him  in  a  personal  encounter  Moreover,  the  Commodore  is  naturally 


MR.   AND    MRS.    GENERAL  TOM   THUMB.  219 

quick -tempered,  and,  when  excited,  he  brags  about  his  knowledge  of  "the  inanly 
art  of  self-defence,"  and  sometimes  talks  about  pistols  and  bowie  knives,  etc. 
Tom  Thumb,  on  the  contrary,  is  by  natural  disposition  decidedly  a  man  of  peace; 
hence,  in  this,  agreeing  with  Falstaff  as  to  what  constituted  the  "better  part  of 
valor,"  he  was  strongly  inclined  to  keep  his  distance,  if  the  little  Commodore 
showed  any  belligerent  symptoms. 

In  the  course  of  several  weeks  the  General  found  numerous  opportunities  to 
talk  with  Lavinia,  while  the  Commodore  was  performing  on  the  stage,  or  was 
otherwise  engaged;  and,  to  a  watchful  discerner,  it  was  evident  he  was  making 
encouraging  progress  in  the  affair  of  the  heart.  He  also  managed  to  meet  Lavinia 
ou  Sunday  afternoons  and  evenings,  without  the  knowledge  of  the  Commodore; 
but  he  assured  me  he  had  not  yet  dared  to  suggest  matrimony. 

He  finally  returned  to  Bridgeport,  and  privately  begged  that  on  the  following 
Saturday  I  would  take  Lavinia  up  to  my  house,  and  also  invite  him. 

His  immediate  object  in  this  was,  that  his  mother  might  get  acquainted  with 
Lavinia,  for  he  feared  opposition  from  that  source  whenever  the  idea  of  his  mar- 
riage should  be  suggested.  I  could  do  no  less  than  accede  to  his  proposal,  and  on 
the  following  Friday,  while  Lavinia  and  the  Commodore  were  sitting  in  the 
green-room,  I  said: 

"Lavinia,  you  may  go  up  to  Bridgeport  with  me  to-morrow  morning,  and 
remain  until  Monday." 

"  Thank  you,"  she  replied;  "  it  will  be  quite  a  relief  to  get  into  the  country  for 
a  couple  of  days." 

The  Commodore  immediately  pricked  up  his  ears,  and  said: 

"  Mr.  Barnum,  /should  like  to  go  to  Bridgeport  to-morrow." 

"What for?"  I  asked. 

"  I  want  to  see  my  little  ponies;  I  have  not^een  them  tor  several  months,"  he 
replied. 

I  whispered  in  his  ear,  "  you  little  rogue,  that  is  the  pony  you  want  to  see," 
pointing  to  Lavinia. 

He  insisted  I  was  mistaken.  When  I  remarked  that  he  could  not  well  be  spared 
from  the  Museum,  he  said : 

"  Oh  !  I  can  perform  at  half -past  seven  o'clock,  and  then  jump  on  to  the  eight 
o'clock  evening  train,  and  go  up  by  myself,  reaching  Bridgeport  before  eleven, 
and  return  early  Monday  morning." 

I  feared  there  would  be  a  clashing  of  interests  between  the  rival  pigmies;  but 
wishing  to  please  him,  I  consented  to  his  request,  especially  as  Lavinia  also 
favored  it.  I  wished  I  could  then  fathom  that  little  woman's  heart,  and  see 
whether  she  (who  must  have  discovered  the  secret  of  the  General's  frequent  visits 
to  the  Museum)  desired  the  Commodore's  visit  in  order  to  stir  up  the  General's 
ardor,  or  whether,  as  seemed  to  me  the  more  likely,  she  was  seeking  in  this  way 
to  prevent  a  denouement  which  she  was  not  inclined  to  favor.  Certain  it  is,  that 
though  I  was  the  General's  confidant,  and  knew  all  his  desires  upon  the  subject, 
no  person  had  discovered  the  slightest  evidence  that  Lavinia  Warren  had  ever 
entertained  the  remotest  suspicion  of  his  thoughts  regarding  marriage.  If  »he 
had  made  the  discovery,  as  I  assume,  she  kept  the  secret  well.  In  fact,  I  assured 
Tom  Thumb  that  every  indication,  so  far  as  any  of  us  could  observe,  was  to  the 
effect  that  his  suit  would  be  rejected.  The  little  General  was  fidgety,  but  deter- 
mined; hence  he  was  anxious  to  have  Lavinia  meet  his  mother,  and  also  see  his 
possessions  in  Bridgeport,  for  he  owned  considerable  land  and  numerous  houses 
there. 


220  MR.    AND   MES.   GENERAL   TOM   THUMB. 

The  General  met  us  at  the  depot  in  Bridgeport,  on  Saturday  morning,  and 
drove  us  to  my  house  in  his  own  carriage — his  coachman  being  tidily  dressed, 
with  a  broad  velvet  ribbon  and  silver  buckle  placed  upon  his  hat  expressly  for 
the  occasion.  Lavinia  was  duly  informed  that  this  was  the  General's  ' '  turn  out ; " 
and  after  resting  half  an  hour  at  Lindencrof t,  he  took  her  out  to  ride.  He  stopped 
a  few  moments  at  his  mother's  house,  where  she  saw  the  apartments  which  his 
father  had  built  expressly  for  him,  and  filled  with  the  most  gorgeous  furniture — 
all  corresponding  to  his  own  diminutive  size.  Then  he  took  her  to  East  Bridge- 
port, and  undoubtedly  took  occasion  to  point  out  in  great  detail  all  of  the  houses 
which  he  owned,  for  he  depended  much  upon  having  his  wealth  make  some 
impression  upon  her.  They  returned,  and  the  General  stayed  to  lunch.  I  asked 
Lavinia  how  she  liked  her  ride;  she  replied: 

"  It  was  very  pleasant,  but,"  she  added,  "it  seems  as  if  you  and  Tom  Thumb 
owned  about  all  of  Bridgeport! " 

The  General  took  his  leave  and  returned  at  five  o'clock  to  dinner  with  his 
mother.  Mrs.  Stratton  remained  until  seven  o'clock.  She  expressed  herself 
charmed  with  Lavinia  Warren;  but  not  a  suspicion  passed  her  mind  that  little 
Charlie  was  endeavoring  to  give  her  this  accomplished  young  lady  as  a  daughter- 
in-law.  The  General  had  privately  asked  me  to  invite  him  to  stay  over  night, 
"  For,"  said  he,  "  if  I  get  a  chance,  I  intend  to  '  pop  the  question '  before  the  Com- 
modore arrives."  So  I  told  his  mother  I  thought  the  General  had  better  stop 
with  us  over  night,  as  the  Commodore  would  be  up  in  the  late  train,  adding  that 
it  would  be  more  pleasant  for  the  little  folks  to  be  together.  She  assented,  and 
the  General  was  happy. 

After  tea  Lavinia  and  the  General  sat  down  to  play  backgammon.  As  nine 
o'clock  approached,  I  remarked  that  it  was  about  time  to  retire,  but  somebody 
would  have  to  sit  up  until  nearly  eleven  o'clock,  in  order  to  let  in  the  Commo- 
dore. The  General  replied: 

"  I  will  sit  up  with  pleasure,  if  Miss  Warren  will  remain  also." 

Lavinia  carelessly  replied,  that  she  was  accustomed  to  late  hours,  and  she 
would  wait  and  see  the  Commodore.  A  little  supper  was  placed  upon  the  table 
for  the  Commodore,  and  the  family  retired. 

Now  it  happened  that  a  couple  of  mischievous  young  ladies  were  visiting  at  my 
house,  one  of  whom  was  to  sleep  with  Lavinia.  They  were  suspicious  that  the 
General  was  going  to  propose  to  Lavinia  that  evening,  and,  in  a  spirit  of  ungov 
ernable  curiosity,  they  determined,  notwithstanding  its  manifest  impropriety,  to 
witness  the  operation,  if  they  could  possibly  manage  to  do  so  on  the  sly.  Of 
course  this  was  inexcusable,  the  more  so  as  so  few  of  my  readers,  had  they  been 
placed  under  the  same  temptation,  would  have  been  guilty  of  such  an  impro- 
priety 1  Perhaps  I  should  hesitate  to  use  the  testimony  of  such  witnesses,  or  even 
to  trust  it.  But  a  few  weeks  after,  they  told  the  little  couple  the  whole  story, 
were  forgiven,  and  all  had  a  hearty  laugh  over  it. 

It  so  happened  that  the  door  of  the  sitting-room,  in  which  the  General  and 
Lavinia  were  left  at  the  backgammon  board,  opened  into  the  hall  just  at  the  side 
of  the  stairs,  and  these  young  misses,  turning  out  the  lights  in  the  hall,  seated 
themselves  upon  the  stairs  in  the  dark,  where  they  had  a  full  view  of  the  cosy 
little  couple,  and  were  within  easy  ear-shot  of  all  that  was  said. 

The  house  was  still.  The  General  soon  acknowledged  himself  vanquished  at 
backgammon,  and  gave  it  up.  After  sitting  a  few  moments,  he  evidently 
thought  it  was  best  to  put  a  clincher  on  the  financial  part  of  his  abilities;  so  he 
drew  from  his  pocket  a  policy  of  insurance,  and  handing  it  to  Lavinia,  he  asked 
her  if  she  knew  what  it  was. 


MR.   AND  MRS.   GENERAL  TOM  THUMB.  221 

Examining  it,  she  replied,  "It  is  an  insurance  policy,  i  see  you  keep  youi 
property  insured." 

"  But  the  beauty  of  it  is,  it  is  not  my  property,"  replied  the  General,  "  and  yet 
I  get  the  benefit  of  the  insurance  in  case  of  fire.  You  will  see,"  he  continued, 
unfolding  the  policy,  "this  is  the  property  of  Mr.  Williams,  but  here,  you  will 
observe,  it  reads  '  loss,  if  any,  payable  to  Charles  S.  Stratton,  as  his  interest  may 
appear.'  The  fact  is,  I  loaned  Mr.  Williams  three  thousand  dollars,  took  a  mort- 
gage on  his  house,  and  made  him  insure  it  for  my  benefit.  In  this  way,  you 
perceive,  I  get  my  interest,  and  he  has  to  pay  the  taxes." 

"  That  is  a  very  wise  way,  I  should  think,"  remarked  Lavinia. 

"  That  is  the  way  I  do  all  my  business,"  replied  the  General,  complacently,  as 
he  returned  the  huge  insurance  policy  to  his  pocket.  "You  see,"  he  continued, 
'  I  never  lend  any  of  my  money  without  taking  bond  and  mortgage  security, 
then  I  have  no  trouble  with  taxes;  my  principal  is  secure,  and  I  receive  my 
interest  regularly." 

The  explanation  seemed  satisfactory  to  Lavinia,  and  the  General's  courage 
began  to  rise.  Drawing  his  chair  a  little  nearer  to  hers,  he  said: 

"  So  you  are  going  to  Europe,  soon  ?" 

"Yes,"  replied  Lavinia,  "Mr.  Barnum  intends  to  take  me  over  in  a  couple  of 
months." 

"You  will  find  it  very  pleasant,"  remarked  the  General;  "I  have  been  there 
twice,  in  fact  I  have  spent  six  years  abroad,  and  I  like  the  old  countries  very 
much." 

"I  hope  I  shall  like  the  trip,  ana  i  expect  I  shall,"  responded  Lavinia;  "for 
Mr.  Barnum  says  I  shall  visit  all  the  principal  cities,  and  he  has  no  doubt  I  will 
be  invited  to  appear  before  the  Queen  of  England,  the  Emperor  and  Empress  of 
France,  the  King  of  Prussia,  the  Emperor  of  Austria,  and  at  the  courts  of  any 
other  countries  which  we  may  visit.  Oh  I  I  shall  like  that,  it  will  be  so  new  to 
me." 

"Yes,  it  will  be  very  interesting  indeed.  I  have  visited  most  of  the  crowned 
heads,"  remarked  the  General,  with  an  evident  feeling  of  self-congratulation. 
"  But  are  you  not  afraid  you  will  be  lonesome  in  a  strange  country  ?"  asked  the 
General. 

"No,  I  think  there  is  no  danger  of  that,  for  friends  will  accompany  me,"  was 
the  reply. 

"  I  wish  I  was  going  over,  for  I  know  all  about  the  different  countries,  and 
could  explain  them  all  to  you,"  remarked  Tom  Thumb. 

"  That  would  be  very  nice,"  said  Lavinia. 

"  Do  you  think  so  ?"  said  the  General,  moving  his  chair  still  closer  to  Lavinia's. 

"  Of  course,"  replied  Lavinia,  coolly,  "  for  I,  being  a  stranger  to  all  the  habits 
and  customs  of  the  people,  as  well  as  to  the  country,  it  would  be  pleasant  to  have 
some  person  along  who  could  answer  all  my  foolish  questions." 

"  I  should  like  it  first  rate,  if  Mr.  Barnum  would  engage  me,"  said  the  General. 

"I  thought  you  remarked  the  other  day  that  you  had  money  enough,  and  was 
tired  of  traveling,"  said  Lavinia,  with  a  slightly  mischievous  look  from  one 
corner  of  her  eye. 

"That  depends  upon  my  company  while  traveling,"  replied  the  General 

"  You  might  not  find  my  company  very  agreeable." 

"I  would  be  glad  to  risk  it." 

"Well,  perhaps  Mr.  Barnum  would  engage  you,  if  you  asked  him,"  said 
Lavinia. 


222  MR.   AND   MRS.    GEXERAL  TOM   THUMB. 

"Would  you  really  like  to  have  me  go  ?"  asked  the  General,  quietly  insinuat- 
ing his  arm  around  her  waist,  but  hardly  dose  enough  to  touch  her. 

"Of  course  I  would,"  was  the  reply. 

The  little  General's  arm  clasped  the  waist  closer  as  he  turned  his  face  nearer  to 
hers,  and  said: 

"Don't  you  think  it  would  be  pleasanter  if  we  went  as  man  and  wife  ?" 

The  little  fairy  quickly  disengaged  his  arm,  and  remarked  that  the  General  was 
a  funny  fellow  to  joke  in  that  way. 

"  I  am  not  joking  at  all,"  said  the  General,  earnestly,  "  it  is  quite  too  serious  a 
matter  for  that." 

"  I  wonder  why  the  Commodore  dont  come  ?"  said  Lavinia. 

"  I  hope  you  are  not  anxious  for  his  arrival,  for  I  am  sure  /  am  not,"  responded 
the  General,  "  and  what  is  more,  I  do  hope  you  will  say  '  yes,'  before  he  comes  at 
all!" 

"Really,  Mr.  Stratton,"  said  Lavinia,  with  dignity,  "if  you  are  in  earnest  in 
your  strange  proposal,  I  must  say  I  am  surprised." 

"Well,  I  hope  you  are  not  offended,"  replied  the  General,  "for  I  was  never 
more  in  earnest  in  my  life,  and  I  hope  you  will  consent.  The  first  moment  I  saw 
you  1  felt  that  you  were  created  to  be  my  wife." 

"  But  this  is  so  sudden." 

"  Not  so  very  sudden;  it  is  several  months  since  we  first  met,  and  you  know  all 
about  me  and  my  family,  and  I  hope  you  find  nothing  to  object  to  in  me." 

"  Not  at  all;  on  the  contrary,  I  have  found  you  very  agreeable,  in  fact  I  like 
you  very  much  as  a  friend,  but  I  have  not  thought  of  marrying,  and  — " 

' '  And  what,  my  dear  ?"  said  the  General,  giving  her  a  kiss.  "  No w,  I  beg  of  you, 
don't  have  any  '  buts '  or  '  ands '  about  it.  You  say  you  like  me  as  a  friend,  why 
will  you  not  like  me  as  a  husband  ?  You  ought  to  get  married :  I  love  you  dearly, 
and  I  want  you  for  a  wife.  Now,  deary,  the  Commodore  will  be  here  in  a  few 
minutes,  I  may  not  have  a  chance  to  see  you  again  alone;  do  say  that  we  will  be 
married,  and  I  will  get  Mr.  Barmim  to  give  up  your  engagement." 

Lavinia  hesitated,  and  finally  said: 

"I  thinl?  I  love  you  well  enough  to  consent,  but  I  have  always  said  I  would 
never  marry  without  my  mother's  consent." 

"  Oh  1  I'll  ask  your  mother.  May  I  ask  your  mother  ?  Come,  say  yes  to  that, 
and  I  will  go  and  see  her  next  week.  May  I  do  that,  pet  ? " 

Then  there  was  a  sound  of  something  very  much  like  the  popping  of  several 
corks  from  as  many  beer-bottles.  The  young  eavesdroppers  had  no  doubt  as  to 
the  character  of  these  reports,  nor  did  they  doubt  that  they  sealed  the  betrothal, 
for  immediately  after  they  heard  Lavinia  say: 

"  Yes,  Charles,  you  may  ask  my  mother."  Another  volley  of  reports  followed, 
and  then  Lavinia  said,  "Now,  Charles,  don't  whisper  this  to  a  living  soul;  let  us 
keep  our  own  secrets  for  the  present." 

"  All  right,"  said  the  General,  "  I  will  say  nothing;  but  next  Tuesday  I  shall 
start  to  see  your  mother." 

"  Perhaps  you  may  find  it  difficult  to  obtain  her  consent,"  said  Lavinia. 

At  that  moment  a  carriage  drove  up  to  the  door,  and  immediately  the  bell  was 
rung,  and  the  little  Commodore  entered. 

"  You  here,  General  ?"  said  the  Commodore,  as  he  espied  his  rivaL 

"  Yes,"  said  Lavinia,  "  Mr.  Barnum  asked  him  to  stay,  and  we  were  waiting 
for  you:  come,  warm  yourself." 

"I  am  not  cold."  said  the  Commodore;  "  where  is  Mr.  Barnum  ?" 


MR.   AND   MRS.    GENERAL  TOM   THUMB.  223 

"  He  has  gone  to  bed,"  remarked  the  General,  "  but  a  nice  supper  has  been 
prepared  for  you." 

"  I  am  not  hungry,  I  thank  you;  I  am  going  to  bed.  Which  room  does  Mr. 
Barnum  sleep  in  ?"  said  the  little  bantam,  in  a  petulant  tone  of  voice. 

His  question  was  answered;  the  young  eavesdroppers  scampered  to  their 
sleeping  apartments,  and  the  Commodore  soon  came  to  my  room,  where  he  found 
me  indulging  in  the  foolish  habit  of  reading  in  bed. 

"Mr.  Barnum,  does  Tom  Thumb  board  here?"  asked  the  Commodore, 
sarcastically. 

"No,"  said  I,  "Tom  Thumb  does  not  board  here.  1  invited  him  to  stop  over 
night,  so  don't  be  foolish,  but  go  to  bed." 

"  Oh,  it's  no  affair  of  mine.  I  don't  care  anything  about  it;  but  I  thought  he 
had  taken  up  his  board  here,"  replied  the  Commodore,  and  off  he  went  to  bed, 
evidently  in  a  bad  humor. 

Ten  minutes  afterwards  Tom  Thumb  came  rushing  into  my  room,  and,  closing 
the  door,  he  caught  hold  of  my  hand  in  high  state  of  excitement  and  whispered: 

"We  are  engaged,  Mr.  Barnum  !  we  are  engaged  I  we  are  engaged  I"  and  he 
jumped  up  and  down  in  the  greatest  glee. 

"  Is  that  possible  3 "  I  asked. 

"Yes,  sir,  indeed  it  is;  but  you  must  not  mention  it,"  he  responded:  "we  agreed 
to  tell  nobody,  so  please  don't  say  a  word.  I  must  tell  you,  of  course,  but '  mum 
is  the  word.'  I  am  going,  Tuesday,  to  get  her  mother's  consent." 

I  promised  secrecy,  and  the  General  retired  in  as  happy  a  mood  as  I  ever  saw 
him.  Lavinia  also  retired,  but  not  a  liint  did  she  give  to  the  young  lady  with 
whom  she  slept  regarding  the  engagement.  Indeed,  our  family  plied  her  upon 
the  subject  the  next  day,  but  not  a  breath  passed  her  lips  that  would  give  the 
slightest  indication  of  what  had  transpired.  She  was  quite  sociable  with  the 
Commodore,  and  as  tho  General  concluded  to  go  home  the  next  morning,  the 
Commodore's  equanimity  and  good  feelings  were  fully  restored.  The  General 
made  a  call  of  half  an  hour  Sunday  evening,  and  managed  to  have  an  interview 
with  Lavinia.  The  next  morning  she  and  the  Commodore  returned  to  New  York 
in  good  spirits,  I  remaining  in  Bridgeport. 

The  General  called  on  me  Monday,  however,  bringing  a  very  nice  letter  which 
he  had  written  to  Lavinia's  mother. '  He  had  concluded  to  send  this  letter  by  his 
trusty  friend,  Mr.  George  A.  Wells,  instead  of  going  himself,  and  he  had  just 
seen  Mr.  Wells,  who  had  consented  to  go  to  Middleborough  with  the  letter  the 
following  day,  and  to  urge  the  General's  suit,  if  it  should  be  necessary. 

The  General  went  to  New  York  on  Wednesday,  and  was  there  to  await  Mr. 
Wells'  arrival.  On  Wednesday  morning  the  General  and  Lavinia  walked  into 
my  office,  and  after  closing  the  door,  the  little  General  said: 

"Mr.  Barnum,  I  want  somebody  to  tell  the  Commodore  that  Lavinia  and  I  are 
engaged,  for  I  am  afraid  there  will  be  a  '  row '  when  he  hears  of  it." 

"Do  it  yourself,  General,"  I  replied. 

"Oh,"  said  the  General,  almost  shuddering,  "I  would  not  dare  to  do  it,  he 
might  knock  me  down." 

"  I  will  do  it,"  said  Lavinia;  and  it  was  at  once  arranged  that  I  should  call  the 
Commodore  and  Lavinia  into  my  office,  and  either  she  or  myself  would  tell  him. 
The  General,  of  course,  "vamosed." 

When  the  Commodore  joined  us,  and  the  door  was  closed,  I  said  : 

"  Commodore,  do  you  know  what  this  little  witch  has  been  doing  ?" 

"No,  I  don't,"  he  answered. 


224  MB.    AND    MRS.   GENERAL  TOM  THUMB. 

"  Well,  she  has  been  cutting  up  one  of  the  greatest  pranks  you  ever  heard  of," 
I  replied.  "  She  almost  deserves  to  be  shut  up,  for  daring  to  do  it.  Can't  you 
guess  what  she  has  done? " 

He  mused  a  moment,  and  then  looking  at  me,  said  in  a  low  voice,  and  with  a 
serious-looking  face,  "Engaged?" 

"Yes,"  said  I,  "  absolutely  engaged  to  be  married  to  General  Tom  Thumb. 
Did  you  ever  hear  of  such  a  thing? " 

"  Is  that  so,  Lavinia? "  asked  the  Commodore,  looking  her  earnestly  in  the  face. 

"That  is  so,"  said  Lavinia;  "and  Mr.  Wells  has  gone  to  obtain  my  mother's 
consent." 

The  Commodore  turned  pale,  and  choked  a  little,  as  if  he  was  trying  to  swallow 
something.  Then,  turning  on  his  heel,  he  said,  in  a  broken  voice: 

"I  hope  you  may  be  happy." 

As  he  passed  out  the  door,  a  tear  rolled  down  his  cheek. 

"  That  is  pretty  hard,"  I  said  to  Lavinia. 

"I  am  very  sorry,"  she  replied,  "but  I  could  not  help  it.  That  diamond  and 
emerald  ring  which  you  bade  me  present  in  my  name,  has  caused  all  this  trouble. " 

Half  an  hour  after  this  incident,  the  Commodore  came  to  my  office,  and  said: 

"Mr.  Barnum,  do  you  think  it  would  be  right  for  Miss  Warren  to  marry 
Charley  Stratton  if  her  mother  should  object?" 

I  saw  that  the  little  fellow  had  still  a  slight  hope  to  hang  on,  and  I  said: 

"  No,  indeed,  it  would  not  be  right." 

"Well,  she  says  she  shall  marry  him  any  way;  that  she  gives  her  mother  the 
chance  to  consent,  but  if  she  objects,  she  will  have  her  own  way  and  marry  him," 
said  the  Commodore. 

"  On  the  contrary,"  I  replied,  "  I  will  not  permit  it.  She  is  engaged  to  go  to 
Europe  for  me,  and  I  will  not  release  her,  if  her  mother  does  not  fully  consent  to 
her  marrying  Tom  Thumb." 

The  Commodore's  eyes  glistened  with  pleasure,  as  he  replied: 

"Between  you  and  me,  Mr.  Barnum,  I  don't  believe  she  will  give  her  consent." 

But  the  next  day  dissipated  his  hopes.  Mr.  Wells  returned,  saying  that  Lavi- 
nia's  mother  at  first  objected,  for  she  feared  it  was  a  contrivance  to  get  them 
married  for  the  promotion  of  some  pecuniary  advantage;  but,  upon  reading  the 
letter  from  the  General,  and  one  still  more  urgent  from  Lavinia,  and  also  upon 
hearing  from  Mr.  Wells  that,  in  case  of  their  marriage,  1  should  cancel  all 
claims  I  had  upon  Lavinia's  services,  she  consented. 

After  the  Commodore  had  heard  the  news,  I  said  to  him: 

"  Never  mind,  Commodore,  Minnie  Warren  is  a  better  match  for  you;  she  is  a 
charming  little  creature,  and  two  years  younger  than  you,  while  Lavinia  is 
several  years  your  senior." 

"I  thank  you,  sir,"  replied  the  Commodore,  pompously,  "I  would  not  marry 
the  best  woman  living;  I  don't  believe  in  women,  any  way." 

I  then  suggested  that  he  should  stand  with  little  Minnie,  as  groom  and  brides- 
maid, at  the  approaching  wedding. 

"No,  sir!"  replied  the  Commodore,  emphatically;  "I  won't  do  it! " 

That  idea  was  therefore  abandoned.  A  few  weeks  subsequently,  when  time 
had  reconciled  the  Commodore,  he  told  me  that  Tom  Thumb  had  asked  him  to 
stand  as  groom  with  Minnie,  at  the  wedding,  and  he  was  going  to  do  so. 

"When  I  asked  you  a  few  weeks  ago,  you  refused,"  I  said. 

"  It  was  not  your  business  to  ask  me,"  replied  the  Commodore,  pompously. 
"When  the  proper  person  invited  me  I  accepted." 


MB.   AND   MRS.   QEKERAL  TOM  THUMB.  225 

The  approaching  wedding  was  announced.  It  created  an  immense  excitement. 
Lavinia's  levees  at  the  Museum  were  crowded  to  suffocation,  and  her  photographic 
pictures  were  in  great  demand.  For  several  weeks  she  sold  more  than  three 
hundred  dollars'  worth  of  her  cartes  de  visile  each  day.  And  the  daily  receipts 
at  the  Museum  were  frequently  over  three  thousand  dollars.  I  engaged  the 
General^to  exhibit,  and  to  assist  her  in  the  sale  of  pictures,  to  which  his  own 
photograph,  of  course,  was  added.  I  could  afford  to  give  them  a  fine  wedding, 
and  I  did  so. 

I  did  not  hesitate  to  seek  continued  advantage  from  the  notoriety  of  the  pros- 
pective marriage.  Accordingly,  I  offered  the  General  and  Lavinia  fifteen 
thousand  dollars  if  they  would  postpone  the  wedding  for  a  month,  and  continue 
their  exhibitions  at  the  Museum. 

"  Not  for  fifty  thousand  dollars,"  said  the  General,  excitedly. 

"  Good  for  you,  Charley,"  said  Lavinia,  "  only  you  ought  to  have  said  not  for 
a  hundred  thousand,  for  I  would  not ! " 

They  both  laughed  heartily  at  what  they  considered  my  discomfiture,  and 
such,  looked  at  from  a  business  point  of  view,  it  certainly  was.  The  wedding  day 
approached  and  the  public  excitement  grew.  For  several  days,  I  might  say 
weeks,  the  approaching  marriage  of  Tom  Thumb  was  the  New  York  "sensation." 
For  proof  of  this  I  did  not  need  what,  however,  was  ample,  the  newspaper 
paragraphs.  A  surer  index  was  in  the  crowds  that  passed  into  the  Museum,  and 
the  dollars  that  found  their  way  into  the  ticket-office. 

It  was  suggested  to  me  that  a  small  fortune  in  itself  could  be  easily  made  out 
of  the  excitement.  "Let  the  ceremony  take  place  in  the  Academy  of  Music, 
charge  a  big  price  for  admission,  and  the  citizens  will  come  in  crowds."  I  have 
no  manner  of  doubt  that  in  this  way  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  could  easily 
have  been  obtained.  But  I  had  no  such  thought.  I  had  promised  to  give  the 
couple  a  genteel  and  graceful  wedding,  and  I  kept  my  word. 

The  day  arrived,  Tuesday,  February  10, 1863.  The  ceremony  was  to  take  place 
in  Grace  Church,  New  York.  The  Rev.  Junius  Willey,  Rector  of  St.  John's 
Church  in  Bridgeport,  assisted  by  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Taylor,  of  Grace  Church,  was 
to  officiate.  The  organ  was  played  by  Morgan.  I  know  not  what  better  I  could 
have  done,  had  the  wedding  of  a  prince  been  in  contemplation.  The  church 
was  comfortably  filled  by  a  highly  select  audience  of  ladies  and  gentlemen,  none 
being  admitted  except  those  having  cards  of  invitation.  Among  them  were 
governors  of  several  of  the  States,  to  whom  I  had  sent  cards,  and  such  of  those 
as  could  not  be  present  in  person  were  represented  by  friends,  to  whom  they  had 
given  their  cards.  Members  of  Congress  were  present,  also  generals  of  the  army, 
and  many  other  prominent  public  men.  Numerous  applications  were  made  from 
wealthy  and  distinguished  persons,  for  tickets  to  witness  the  ceremony,  and  as 
high  as  sixty  dollars  was  offered  for  a  single  admission.  But  not  a  ticket  was 
sold;  and  Tom  Thumb  and  Lavinia  Warren  were  pronounced  "man  and  wife" 
before  witnesses.* 

The  following  entirely  authentic  correspondence,  the  only  suppression  being  the 
name  of  the  person  who  wrote  to  Dr.  Taylor,  and  to  whom  Dr.  Taylor's  reply  is 
addressed,  shows  how  a  certain  would-be  "witness"  was  not  a  witness  of  the 
famous  wedding.  In  other  particulars  the  correspondence  speaks  for  itself. 

*  See  Illustration,  page  228. 


226  ME.   AND   MRS.  GEHERAL  TOM  THUMB. 

To  THE  REV.  DR.  TAYLOR,  « 

Sir:  The  object  of  my  unwillingly  addressing  you  this  note  is  to  enquire  what  right  yon 
had  to  exclude  myself  and  other  owners  of  pews  in  Grace  Church  from  entering  it  yesterday, 
enforced,  too,  by  a  cordon  of  police  for  that  purpofee.  If  my  pew  is  not  my  property,  I  wish 
to  know  it;  and  if  it  is,  I  deny  your  right  to  prevent  me  from  occupying  it  whenever  the 
church  is  open,  even  at  a  marriage  of  mountebanks,  which  I  would  not  take  the  trouble  to 
cross  the  street  to  witness. 

Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

W**%S*** 


804  BROADWAY,  NEW  YORK,  Feb.  16,  1863. 
MR.  W***  S**», 

Dear  Sir  :  I  am  sorry,  my  valued  friend,  that  yon  should  have  written  me  the  peppery 
letter  that  is  now  before  me.  If  the  matter  of  which  you  complain  be  so  utterly  insignificant 
and  contemptible  as  "  a  marriage  of  mountebanks,  which  you  would  not  take  the  trouble  to 
cross  the  street  to  witness,"  it  surprises  me  that  you  should  have  made  such  strenuous,  but 
ill-directed'efl'orts  to  secure  a  ticket  of  admission.  And  why,  permit  me  to  ask,  in  the  name 
of  reason  and  philosophy,  do  you  still  suffer  it  to  disturb  you  so  sadly?  It  would,  perhaps, 
be  a  sufficient  answer  to  your  letter,  to  say  that  your  cause  of  complaint  exists  only  in  your 
imagination.  You  have  never  been  excluded  from  your  pew.  As  rector,  I  am  the  only 
custodian  of  the  church,  and  you  will  hardly  venture  to  say  that  you  have  ever  applied  to 
me  for  permission  to  enter,  and  been  refused. 

Here  I  might  safely  rest,  and  leave  you  to  the  comfort  of  your  own  reflections  in  the  case. 
But  as  yon,  in  common  with  many  other  worthy  persons,  would  seem  to  have  very  crude 
notions  as  to  your  rights  of  "  property  "  in  pews,  yon  will  pardon  me  for  saying  that  a  pew 
in  a  church  is  property  only  in  a  pecnliar  and  restricted  sense.  It  is  not  property,  as  youi 
house  or  your  horse  is  property.  It  vests  you  with  no  fee  in  the  soil ;  you  cannot  use  it,  in 
any  way,  and  in  every  way,  and  at  all  times,  as  your  pleasure  or  caprice  may  dictate ;  you 
cannot  put  it  to  any  common  or  unhallowed  uses ;  you  cannot  remove  it,  nor  injure  it,  nor 
destroy  it.  In  short,  you  hold  by  purchase,  and  may  sell  the  right  to  the  undisturbed  posses- 
sion of  that  little  space  within  the  church  edifice  which  yon  call  your  pew  during  the  hours 
of  divine  service.  But  even  that  right  must  be  exercised  decorously,  and  with  a  decent 
regard  for  time  and  place,  or  else  you  may  at  any  moment  be  ignominiously  ejected  from  it. 

I  regret  to  be  obliged  to  add  that,  by  the  law  of  custom,  you  may,  during  those  said  hours 
of  divine  service  (but  at  no  other  time)  sleep  in  your  pew  ;  yon  must,  however,  do  so  noise- 
lessly and  never  to  the  disturbance  of  your  sleeping  neighbors  ;  your  property  in  your  pew 
has  this  extent  and  nothing  more.  Now,  if  Mr.  W  *  *  *  S  *  *  *  were  at  any  time  to  come 
to  me  and  say,  "  Sir,  I  would  that  you  should  grant  me  the  use  of  Grace  Church  for  a  solemn 
service  (a  marriage,  a  baptism,  or  a  funeral,  as  the  case  may  be),  and  as  it  is  desirable  that 
the  feelings  oi  the  parties  should  be  protected  as  far  as  possible  from  the  impertinent 
intrusion  and  disturbance  of  a  crowd  from  the  streets  and  lanes  of  the  city,  I  beg  that  no 
one  may  be  admitted  within  the  doors  of  the  church  during  the  very  few  moments  that  we 
expect  to  be  there,  but  our  invited  friends  only," — it  would  certainly,  in  such  a  case,  be  my 
pleasure  to  comply  with  your  request,  and  to  meet  your  wishes  in  every  particular  ;  and  I 
think  that  even  Mr.  W  *  *  *  8  *  *  *  will  agree  that  all  thi»  would  be  entirely  reasonable  and 
proper.  Then,  tell  me,  how  would  such  a  case  differ  from  the  instance  of  which  you 
complain?  Two  young  persons,  whose  only  crimes  would  seem  to  be  that  they  are  neither 
so  big,  nor  so  stupid,  nor  so  ill-mannered,  nor  so  inordinately  selfish  as  some  other  people, 
come  to  me  and  say,  sir.  we  are  about  to  be  married,  and  we  wish  to  throw  around  our 
marriage  all  the  solemnities  of  religion.  We  are  strangers  in  your  city,  and  as  there  is  no 
clergymen  here  standing  in  a  pastoral  relation  to  us,  we  have  ventured  to  ask  the  favor  of 
the  bishop  of  New  York  to  marry  us,  and  he  has  kindly  consented  to  do  so;  may  we  then 
venture  a  little  further  and  request  the  use  of  your  church  in  which  the  bishop  may  perform 
the  marriage  service  ?  We  assure  you,  sir,  that  we  are  no  shams,  no  cheats,  no  mountebanks; 
we  are  neither  monsters  nor  abortions;  it  is  true  we  are  little,  but  we  are  as  God  made  us, 
perfect  in  onr  littleness.  Sir,  we  are  simply  man  and  woman  of  like  passions  and  infirmities 
with  yon  and  other  mortals.  The  arrangements  for  our  marriage  are  controlled  by  no 
'showman,"  and  we  are  sincerely  desirous  that  everything  should  be  ordered  with  a  most 
scrupulous  regard  to  decorum.  We  hope  to  invite  our  relations  and  intimate  friends,  together 
with  such  persons  as  may  in  other  years  have  extended  civilities  to  either  of  us  ;  but  we 
pledge  ourselves  to  you  most  sacredly  that  no  invitation  can  be  bought  with  money.  Permit 
us  to  say  further,  that  as  we  would  most  gladly  escape  from  the  insulting  jeers,  and  ribald 
sneers  and  coarse  ridicule  of  the  unthinking  multitude  without,  we  pray  you  to  allow  us,  at 
our  own  proper  charges,  so  to  guard  the  avenues  of  access  from  the  street,  as  to  prevent  all 
unseemly  tumult  and  disorder. 

I  tell  you,  sir.  that  whenever,  and  from  whomsoever,  such  an  appeal  is  made  to  my  Christian 
courtesy,  although  it  should  come  from  the  very  humblest  of  the  earth,  I  would  go  calmly 
and  cheerfully  forward  to  meet  their  wishes,  although  as  many  W***  8  *  *  *  's  as  would 
reach  from  here  to  Kamtschatka,  clothed  in  furs  and  frowns,  should  rise  np  to  oppose  me. 

In  conclusion,  I  will  say,  that  if  the  marriage  of  Charles  8.  Stratton  and  Lavinia  Warren 
Is  to  be  regarded  as  a  pageant,  then  it  was  the  most  beautiful  pageant  it  has  ever  been  my 
privilege  to  witness.  If,  on  the  contrary,  it  is  rather  to  be  thought  of  as  a  solemn  ceremony, 
then  it  was  as  touchingly  solemn  as  a  wedding  can  possibly  be  rendered.  It  is  true  the 
bishop  was  not  present,  but  Mr.  Stratton's  own  pastor,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Willey,  of  Bridgeport, 


MR.   AND   MRS.   GENERAL  TOM   THUMB.  227 

Connecticut,  read  the  service  with  admirable  taste  and  iinpressiveness,  and  the  bride  was 
given  away  by  her  mother's  pastor  and  her  own  "next  friend,"  a  venerable  congregational 
Jergyman  from  Massachusetts.  Surely,  there  never  was  a  gathering  of  so  many  hundreds 
of  our  best  people,  when  everybody  appeared  so  delighted  with  everything  ;  surely  it  is  no 
light  thing  to  call  forth  so  much  innocent  joy  in  so  few  moments  of  passing  time  ;  surely  it 
8  no  light  thing,  thus  to  smooth  the  roughness  and  sweeten  the  acerbities  which  mar  our 
nappiness  as  we  advance  upon  the  wearing  journey  of  life.  Sir,  it  was  most  emphatically  a 
high  triumph  of  "  Christian  civilization  1" 

Respectfully  submitted,  by  your  obedient  servant, 

THOMAS  HOUSE  TAYLOR. 

Several  thousand  persons  attended  the  reception  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Tom  Thumb 
the  same  day  at  the  Metropolitan  HoteL  After  this  they  started  on  a  wedding 
tour,  taking  Washington  in  their  way.  They  visited  President  Lincoln  at  the 
White  House.  After  a  couple  of  weeks  they  returned,  and,  as  they  then  sup- 
posed, retired  to  private  life. 

Habit,  however,  is  indeed  second  nature.  The  General  and  his  wife  had  been 
accustomed  to  excitement,  and  after  a  few  months'  retirement  they  again  longed 
for  the  peculiar  pleasures  of  a  public  Me,  and  the  public  were  eager  to  welcome 
them  once  more.  They  resumed  their  public  career,  and  have  since  traveled 
around  the  world,  holding  public  exhibitions  more  than  half  the  time,  Commo- 
dore Nutt  and  Minnie  Warren  accompanying  them. 

I  met  the  little  Commodore  last  summer,  after  his  absence  in  Europe  of  three 
years,  and  said: 

"  Are  you  not  married  yet,  Commodore? " 

"  No,  sir;  my  fruit  is  plucked,"  he  replied. 

"You  don't  mean  to  say  you  will  never  marry,"  I  remarked. 

"No,  not  exactly,"  replied  the  Commodore,  complacently,  "but  I  have 
concluded  not  to  marry  until  I  am  thirty." 

"  I  suppose  you  intend  to  marry  one  of  your  size? "  I  said. 

"  I  am  not  particular  in  that  respect,"  but  seeing  my  jocose  mood,  he  continued, 
with  a  comical  leer,  "  I  think  I  should  prefer  marrying  a  good,  green,  country 
girl,  to  anybody  else." 

This  was  said  with  a  degree  of  nonchalance,  which  none  can  appreciate  who  do 
not  know  him. 

To  make  sure  that  a  lack  of  memory  has  not  misled  me  as  to  any  of  the  facts 
in  regard  to  the  courtship  and  wedding  of  Tom  Thumb  and  Lavinia  Warren,  I 
will  here  say  that,  after  writing  out  the  story,  I  read  it  to  the  parties  personally 
interested,  and  they  give  me  leave  to  say  that,  in  all  particulars,  it  is  a  correct 
statement  of  the  affair,  except  that  Lavinia  remarked  : 

"  Well,  Mr.  Barnum,  your  story  don't  lose  any  by  the  telling; "  and  the  Com- 
modore denies  the  "  rolling  tear,"  when  informed  of  the  engagement  of  the  little 
pair. 

In  June,  1869,  the  report  was  started,  for  the  third  or  fourth  time  in  the 
newspapers,  that  Commodore  Nutt  and  Miss  Minnie  Warren  were  married,  this 
time  at  West  Haven,  in  Connecticut.  The  story  was  wholly  untrue,  nor  do  I 
think  that  such  a  wedding  is  likely  to  take  place,  for,  on  the  principle  that  people 
like  their  opposites,  Minnie  and  the  Commodore  are  likely  to  marry  persons  whom 
they  can  literally  "look  up  to,"  that  is,  if  either  of  them  marries  at  all  it  will  be 
a  tall  partner. 

Soon  after  the  wedding  of  General  Tom  Thumb  and  Lavinia  Warren,  a  lady 
came  to  my  office  and  called  my  attention  to  a  little  six-paged  pamphlet  which 
she  aaid  she  had  written,  entitled  "Priests  and  Pigmies,"  and  requested  me  to 


228  MK.   AND   MRS.    GENERAL  TOM  THUMB. 

read  it.  1  glanced  at  the  title,  and  at  once  estimating  the  character  of  the 
publication,  I  promptly  declined  to  devote  any  portion  of  my  valuable  time  to  its 
perusal. 

"  But  you  had  better  look  at  it,  Mr.  Barnum;  it  deeply  interests  you,  and  you 
may  think  it  worth  your  while  to  buy  it." 

"  Certainly,  I  will  buy  it,  if  you  desire, "said  I,  tendering  her  a  sixpence,  which 
I  supposed  to  be  the  price  of  the  little  pamphlet. 

"  Ohl  you  quite  misunderstand  me;  I  mean  buy  the  copyright  and  the  entire 
edition,  with  the  view  of  suppressing  the  work.  It  says  some  frightful  things,  1 
assure  you,"  urged  the  author. 

I  lay  back  in  my  chair  and  fairly  roared  at  this  exceedingly  feeble  attempt  at 
black-mail 

" But,"  persisted  the  lady,  "suppose  it  says  that  your  Museum  and  Grace 
Church  are  all  one,  what  then?" 

"  My  dear  madam,"  I  replied,  "  you  may  say  what  you  please  about  me  or  about 
my  Museum;  you  may  print  a  hundred  thousand  copies  of  a  pamphlet  stating  that 
I  stole  the  communion  service,  after  the  wedding,  from  Grace  Church  altar,  or 
anything  else  you  choose  to  write ;  only  have  the  kindness  to  say  something  about 
me,  and  then  come  to  me  and  I  will  properly  estimate  the  money  value  of  your 
services  to  me  as  an  advertising  agent.  Good  morning,  madam," — and  the 
departed. 


CHAPTER    XXXVIII. 

POLITICAL   AND   PEKSONAL. 

I  BBGAN  my  political  life  as  a  Democrat,  and  my  newspaper,  the  Herald  oj 
Freedom,  was  a  Jackson-Democratic  journal.  While  always  taking  an  active 
interest  in  political  matters,  I  had  no  desire  for  personal  preferment,  and,  up  to 
a  late  period,  steadily  declined  to  run  for  office.  Nevertheless,  in  1852  or  1853, 
prominent  members  of  the  party  with  which  I  voted,  urged  the  submission  of  my 
name  to  the  State  Convention,  as  a  candidate  for  the  office  of  Governor,  and, 
although  the  party  was  then  in  the  ascendancy,  and  a  nomination  would  have 
been  equivalent  to  an  election,  I  peremptorily  refused;  in  spite  of  this  refusal, 
which  was  generally  known,  several  votes  were  cast  for  me  in  the  Convention. 
The  Kansas  strifes,  in  1854,  shook  my  faith  in  my  party,  though  I  continued 
to  call  myself  a  Democrat,  often  declaring  that  if  I  thought  there  was  a  drop  of 
blood  in  me  that  was  not  democratic,  I  would  let  it  out  if  I  had  to  cut  the  jugular 
vein.  When,  however,  secession  threatened  in  1860,  I  thought  it  was  time  for  a 
"new  departure,"  and  I  identified  myself  with  the  Republican  party. 

During  the  active  and  exciting  political  campaign  of  1860,  which  resulted  in 
Mr.  Lincoln's  first  election  to  the  presidency,  it  will  be  remembered  that  "Wide- 
Awake  "  associations,  with  their  uniforms,  torches  and  processions,  were  organ- 
ized in  nearly  every  city,  town  and  village  throughout  the  North.  Arriving  at 
Bridgeport  from  New  York  at  five  o'clock  one  afternoon,  I  was  informed  that 
the  Wide-A  wakes  were  to  parade  that  evening  and  intended  to  march  out  to 
Lindencroft.  So  I  ordered  two  boxes  of  sperm  candles,  and  prepared  for  a  gen- 
eral illumination  of  every  window  in  the  front  of  my  house.  Many  of  my 
neighbors,  including  several  Democrats,  came  to  Lindencroft  in  the  evening  to 
witness  the  illumination  and  see  the  Wide- A  wake  procession.  My  nearest  neigh- 
bor, Mr.  T.,  was  a  strong  Democrat,  and  before  he  came  to  my  house,  he  ordered 
his  servants  to  stay  in  the  basement,  and  not  to  show  a  light  above  ground,  thus 
intending  to  prove  his  Democratic  convictions  and  conclusions  by  the  darkness  of 
his  premises;  and  so,  whilej  Lindencroft  was  all  ablaze  with  a  flood  of  light,  the 
next  house  was  as  black  as  a  coal-hole. 

My  neighbor,  Mr.  James  D.  Johnson,  was  also  a  Democrat,  but  I  knew  he  would 
not  spoil  a  good  joke  for  the  sake  of  politics,  and  I  asked  him  to  engage  the  atten- 
tion of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  T.,  and  to  keep  their  faces  turned  towards  Bridgeport  and 
the  approaching  procession,  the  light  of  whose  torches  could  already  be  seen  in 
the  distance,  while  another  Democratic  friend,  Mr.  George  A.  Wells,  and  I,  ran 
over  and  illuminated  Mr.  T.'s  house.  This  we  did  with  great  success,  completing 
our  work  five  minutes  before  the  procession  arrived.  As  the  Wide-A  wakes  turned 
into  my  grounds  and  saw  that  the  house  of  Mr.  T.  was  brilliantly  illuminated,  they 
concluded  that  he  had  become  a  sudden  convert  to  Republicanism,  and  gave  three 
rousing  cheers  for  him.  Hearing  his  name  thus  cheered  and  wondering  at  the 
cause,  he  happened  to  turn  and  see  that  his  house  was  lighted  up  from  basement 
to  attic,  and  uttering  a  single  profane  ejaculation,  he  rushed  for  home.  He  was 
not  able,  however,  to  put  out  the  lights  till  the  Wide- A  wakes  had  gone  on  their 
way  rejoicing  under  the  impression  that  one  more  Republican  had  been  added  to 
their  ranks. 

229 


230  POLITICAL  AND    PERSONAL. 

When  the  rebellion  broke  out  in  18G1, 1  was  too  old  to  go  to  the  field,  but  1  sup- 
plied four  substitutes,  and  contributed  liberally  from  my  means  for  the  cause  of 
the  Union.  After  the  defeat  at  Bull  Run,  July  21, 1861,  "  peace  meetings  "  began 
to  be  held  in  different  parts  of  the  Northern  States,  and  especially  in  Fairfield 
and  Litchfleld  counties,  in  Connecticut.  It  was  usual  in  these  assemblages  to 
display  a  white  flag,  bearing  the  word  "  Peace  "  above  the  National  flag,  and  to 
make  and  listen  to  harrangues  denunciatory  of  the  war.  One  of  these  meetings 
was  advertised  to  be  held  August  24th,  at  Stepney  ten  miles  north  of  Bridgeport. 
On  the  morning  of  that  day,  I  met  Elias  Howe,  Jr.,*  who  proposed  to  me  that 
we  should  drive  up  to  Stepney,  attend  the  peace  meeting,  and  hear  for  ourselves 
whether  the  addresses  were  disloyal  or  not.  We  agreed  to  meet  at  the  post-office, 
at  twelve  o'clock  at  noon,  and  I  went  home  for  my  carriage.  On  the  way  I  met 
several  gentlemen  to  whom  I  communicated  my  intention,  asking  them  to  go  also; 
and,  as  Mr.  Howe  invited  several  of'  his  friends  to  accompany  us,  when  we  met 
at  noon,  at  least  twenty  gentlemen  were  at  the  place  of  rendezvous  with  their 
carriages,  ready  to  start  for  Stepney.  I  am  quite  confident  that  not  one  of  us  had 
any  other  intention  in  going  to  this  meeting,  than  to  quietly  listen  to  the  har- 
rangues, and  if  they  were  found  to  be  in  opposition  to  the  government,  and 
calculated  to  create  disturbance  or  disaffection  in  the  community,  and  deter 
enlistments,  it  would  be  best  to  represent  the  matter  to  the  government  at  Wash- 
ington, and  ask  that  measures  might  be  taken  to  suppress  such  gatherings. 

As  we  turned  into  Main  street,  we  discovered  two  large  omnibuses  filled  with 
soldiers,  who  were  at  home  on  furlough,  and  who  were  going  to  Stepney.  Our 
lighter  carriages  outran  them,  and  so  arrived  at  Stepney  in  time  to  see  the  white 
peace  flag  run  up  over  the  stars  and  stripes,  when  we  quietly  stood  in  the  crowd 
while  the  meeting  was  organized.  It  was  a  very  large  gathering,  and  some  fifty 
ladies  were  on  the  seats  in  front  of  the  platform,  on  which  were  the  officers  and 
speakers  of  the  meeting.  A  "preacher" — Mr.  Charles  Smith — was  invited  to 
open  the  proceedings  with  prayer,  and  "The  Military  and  Civil  History  of  Con- 
necticut, during  the  War  of  1861-65,"  by  W.  A  Croffut  and  John  M.  Morris,  thus 
continues  the  record  of  this  extraordinary  gathering: 

"He  (Smith)  had  not,  however,  progressed  far  in  his  supplication,  when  he 
slightly  opened  his  eyes,  and  beheld,  to  his  horror,  the  Bridgeport  omnibuses 
coming  over  the  hill,  garnished  with  Union  banners,  and  vocal  with  loyal  cheers. 
This  was  the  signal  for  a  panic;  Bull  Run,  on  a  small  scale  was  re-enacted.  The 
devout  Smith,  and  the  undelivered  orators,  it  is  alleged,  took  refuge  in  a  field  of 
corn.  The  procession  drove  straight  to  the  pole  unresisted,  the  hostile  crowd 
parting  to  let  them  pass;  and  a  tall  man — John  Platt — amid  some  mutterings, 
climbed  the  pole,  reached  the  halliards,  and  the  mongrel  banners  were  on  the 
ground.  Some  of  the  peace-men,  rallying,  drew  weapons  on  '  the  invaders, '  and 
a  musket  and  a  revolver  were  taken  from  them  by  soldiers  at  the  very  instant  of 
firing.  Another  of  the  defenders  fired  a  revolver,  and  was  chased  into  the  fields. 
Still  others,  waxing  belligerent,  were  disarmed,  and  a  number  of  loaded  muskets 
found  stored  in  an  adjacent  shed  were  seized.  The  stars  and  stripes  were  hoisted 
upon  the  pole,  and  wildly  cheered.  P.  T.  Barnum  was  then  taken  on  the  shoulders 
of  the  boys  in  blue,  and  put  on  the  platform,  where  he  made  a  speech  full  of 
patriotism,  spiced  with  the  humor  of  the  occasion.  Captain  James  E.  Dunham 
also  said  a  few  words  to  the  point.  *****  The  Star  Spangled  Banner '  was 
then  sung  in  chorus,  and  a  series  of  resolutions  passed,  declaring  that  '  loyal  men 


•  The  inventor  if  'ewing  machine  needle. 


POLITICAL  AND   PEBSONAL.  233 

are  the  rightful  custodians  of  the  peace  of  Connecticut.'  Elias  Howe,  Jr., 
chairman,  made  his  speech,  when  the  crowd  threatened  to  shoot  the  speakers. 
'  If  they  fire  a  gun,  boys,  burn  the  whole  town,  and  I'll  pay  for  it ! '  Alter  giving 
the  citizens  wholesome  advice  concerning  the  substituted  flag,  and  their  duty  to 
the  government,  the  procession  returned  to  Bridgeport,  with  the  white  flag  trail- 
ing in  the  mud  behind  an  omnibus.  *  *  *  *  They  were  received  at  Bridgeport 
by  approving  crowds,  and  were  greeted  with  continuous  cheers  as  they  passed 
along." 

On  our  way  back  to  Bridgeport,  the  soldiers  threatened  a  descent  upon  the 
Farmer  office,  but  I  strongly  appealed  to  them  to  refrain  from  such  a  riotous 
proceeding,  telling  them  that  as  law-abiding  citizens  they  should  refrain  from  acts 
of  violence,  and  especially  should  make  no  appeal  to  the  passions  of  a  mob.  So 
confident  was  I  that  the  day's  proceedings  had  ended  with  the  reception  of  the 
soldiers  on  their  return  from  Stepney,  that,  in  telegraphing  a  full  account  of  the 
facts  to  the  New  York  papers,  I  added  that  there  was  no  danger  of  an  attack 
upon  the  Farmer  office,  since  leading  loyal  citizens  were  opposed  to  such  action 
as  unnecessary  and  unwise.  But  the  enthusiasm  with  which  the  soldiers  had  been 
received,  and  the  excitement  of  the  day,  prompted  them  to  break  through  their 
resolutions,  and,  half  an  hour  after  my  telegram  had  been  sent  to  New  York, 
they  rushed  into  the  Farmer  office,  tumbled  the  type  into  the  street,  and  broke 
the  presses.  I  did  not  approve  of  this  summary  suppression  of  the  paper,  and 
offered  the  proprietors  a  handsome  subscription  to  assist  in  enabling  them  to 
renew  the  publication  of  the  Farmer. 

After  the  draft  riots  in  New  York  and  in  other  cities,  in  July,  1863,  myself  and 
other  members  of  the  "  Prudential  Committee  "  which  had  been  formed  in 
Bridgeport  were  frequently  threatened  with  personal  violence,  and  rumors  were 
especially  rife  that  Lindencroft  would  some  night  be  mobbed  and  destroyed.  On 
several  occasions,  soldiers  volunteered  as  a  guard  and  came  and  stayed  at  my 
house,  sometimes  for  several  nights  in  succession,  and  I  was  also  provided  with 
rockets,  so  that  in  case  of  an  attempted  attack  I  could  signal  to  my  friends  in  the 
city,  and  especially  to  the  night  watchman  at  the  arsenal,  who  would  see  my 
rockets  at  Lindencroft  and  give  the  alarm.  Happily  these  signals  were  never 
needed,  but  the  rockets  came  in  play,  long  afterwards,  in  another  way. 

My  house  was  provided  with  a  magnetic  burglar-alarm  and  one  night  the  faith- 
ful bell  sounded.  I  was  instantly  on  my  feet  and  summoning  my  servants,  one 
ran  and  rung  the  large  bell  on  the  lawn  which  served  in  the  day-time  to  call  my 
coachman  from  the  stable,  another  turned  on  the  gas,  while  I  fired  a  gun  out  of 
the  window,  and  I  then  went  to  the  top  of  the  house  and  set  off  several  rockets. 
The  whole  region  round  about  was  instantly  aroused;  dogs  barked,  neighbors  half- 
dressed,  but  armed,  flocked  over  to  my  grounds,  every  time  a  rocket  went  up, 
and  I  was  by  no  means  sparing  of  my  supply;  the  whole  place  was  as  light  as 
day,  and  in  the  general  glare  and  confusion  we  caught  sight  of  two  retreating 
burglars,  one  running  one  way,  the  other  another  way,  and  both  as  fast  as  their 
legs  could  carry  them;  nor  do  I  believe  that  the  panic-stricken  would-be  plun- 
derers stopped  running  till  they  reached  New  York.* 

In  the  spring  of  1865,  I  accepted  from  the  Republican  party  a  nomination 
to  the  Connecticut  legislature  from  the  town  of  Fairfield,  and  I  did  this  because 
I  felt  that  it  would  be  an  honor  to  be  permitted  to  vote  for  the  then  proposed 
amendment  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  to  abolish  slavery  forevei 
from  the  land. 

*  See  Illustration,  page  240. 


232  POLITICAL  AND   PERSONAL. 

I  was  elected,  and,  on  arriving  at  Hartford  the  night  before  the  session  began,  1 
found  the  wire-pullers  at  work  laying  their  plans  for  the  election  of  a  Speaker  of 
the  House.  Watching  the  movements  closely,  I  saw  that  the  railroad  interests 
had  combined  in  support  of  one  of  the  candidates,  and  this  naturally  excited  my 
suspicion.  I  never  believed  in  making  State  legislation  a  mere  power  to  support 
monopolies.  I  do  not  need  to  declare  my  full  appreciation  of  the  great  blessings 
which  railroad  interests  and  enterprises  have  brought  upon  this  country  and  the 
world.  But  the  vaster  the  enterprise  and  its  power  for  good,  the  greater  its 
opportunity  for  mischief  if  its  power  is  perverted.  The  time  was  when  a  whole 
community  was  tied  to  the  track  of  one  or  two  railway  companies,  and  it  was 
too  truthful  to  be  looked  upon  as  satire  to  call  New  Jersey  the  "  State  of  Camden 
and  Amboy."  A  great  railroad  company,  like  fire,  is  a  good  servant,  but  a 
bad  master;  and  when  it  is  considered  that  such  a  company,  with  its  vast  num- 
ber of  men  dependent  upon  it  for  their  daily  bread,  can  sometimes  elect  State 
officers  and  legislatures,  the  danger  to  our  free  institutions  from  such  a  force  may 
well  be  feared. 

Thinking  of  these  things,  and  seeing  in  the  combination  of  railroad  interests  to 
elect  a  speaker  no  promise  of  good  to  the  community  at  large,  I  at  once  con- 
sulted with  a  few  friends  in  the  legislature,  and  we  resolved  to  defeat  the  railroad 
"ring,"  if  possible,  in  caucus.  1  AJUU  IK.-»«.I-  seen  either  of  the  candidates  for 
the  speakership,  nor  had  I  a  single  selfish  end  in  view  to  gratify  by  the  election 
of  one  candidate  or  the  other;  but  I  felt  that  if  the  railroad  favorite  could  be 
defeated,  the  public  interest  would  be  subserved.  We  succeeded;  their  candi- 
date was  not  nominated,  and  the  railroad  men  were  taken  by  surprise.  They 
had  had  their  own  way  in  every  legislature  since  the  first  railroad  was  laid  down 
in  Connecticut,  and  to  be  beaten  now  fairly  startled  them. 

Immediately  after  the  caucus,  I  sought  the  successful  nominee,  Hon.  E.  K. 
Foster,  of  New  Haven,  and  begged  him  not  to  appoint,  as  chairman  of  the  rail- 
road committee,  the^  man  who  had  held  that  office  for  several  successive  years, 
and  who  was,  in  fact,  the  great  railroad  factotum  in  the  State.  He  complied 
with  my  request,  and  he  soon  found  how  important  it  was  to  check  the  strong 
and  growing  monopoly;  for,  as  he  said,  the  "outside  pressure"  from  personal 
friends  in  both  political  parties,  to  secure  the  appointments  of  the  person  to  whom 
I  had  objected,  was  terrible. 

Though  I  had  not  foreseen  nor  thought  of  such  a  thing  until  I  reached  Hart- 
ford, I  soon  found  that  a  battle  with  the  railroad  commissioners  would  be  neces- 
sary, and  my  course  was  shaped  accordingly.  It  was  soon  discovered  that  a 
majority  of  the  railroad  commissioners  were  mere  tools  in  the  hands  of  the 
railroad  companies,  and  that  one  of  them  was  actually  a  hired  clerk  in  the  office 
of  the  New  York  and  New  Haven  Railroad  Company.  It  was  also  shown  that  the 
chairman  of  the  railroad  commissioners  permitted  most  of  the  accidents  which 
occurred  on  that  road  to  be  taken  charge  of  and  reported  upon  by  the  paid  lobby 
agent  of  that  railroad.  This  was  so  manifestly  destructive  to  the  interests  of  all 
parties  who  might  suffer  from  accidents  on  the  road,  or  have  any  controversy 
therefor  with  the  company,  that  I  succeeded  in  enlisting  the  farmers  and  other 
true  men  on  the  side  of  right;  and  we  defeated  the  chairman  of  the  railroad 
commissioners,  who  was  a  candidate  for  re-election,  and  elected  our  own  candi- 
date in  his  place.  I  also  earned  through  a  law  that  no  person  who  was  in  the 
employ  of  any  railroad  hi  the  State,  should  serve  as  railroad  commissioner. 

But  the  great  struggle  which  lasted  nearly  through  the  entire  session,  was  upon 
the  subject  of  railroad  passenger  commutations.  Commodore  Vande*t)ilt  had 


POLITICAL   AND    PEBSONAL.  233 

secured  control  of  the  Hudson  River  and  Harlem  railroads,  and  had  increased 
the  price  of  commuters'  tickets  from  two  hundred  to  four  hundred  per  cent. 
Many  men  living  on  the  line  of  these  roads,  at  distances  of  from  ten  to  fifty 
miles  from  New  York,  had  built  fine  residences  in  the  country,  on  the  strength  of 
cheap  transit  to  and  from  the  city,  and  were  compelled  to  submit  to  the  extortion. 
Commodore  Vanderbilt  was  a  large  shareholder  in  the  New  York  and  New  Haven 
road;  indeed,  subsequent  elections  showed  that  he  had  a  controlling  interest,  and 
it  seemed  evident  to  me  that'the  same  practice  would  be  put  in  operation  on  the 
New  Haven  railroad,  that  commuters  were  groaning  under  on  the  two  other 
roads.  I  enlisted  as  many  as  I  could  in  an  effort  to  strangle  this  outrage 
before  it  became  too  strong  te>  grapple  with.  Several  lawyers  in  the  Assembly 
had  promised  me  then*  aid,  but,  long  before  the  final  struggle  came,  every  lawyer 
except  one,  in  that  body,  was  enlisted  in  favor  of  the  railroads  !  What  potent 
influence  had  been  at  work  with  these  legal  gentlemen,  could  only  be  surmised. 
Certain  it  is,  that  all  the  railroad  interests  in  the  State  were  combined ;  and  while 
they  had  plenty  of  money  with  which  to  carry  out  their  designs  and  desires,  the 
chances  looked  slim  in  favor  of  those  members  of  the  legislature  who  had  no 
pecuniary  interest  in  the  matter,  but  were  struggling  simply  for  justice  and  the 
protection  of  the  people.  But  "Yankee  stick-to-it-iveness"  was  always  a  noted 
feature  in  my  character.  Every  inch  of  the  ground  was  fought  over,  day  after 
day,  before  the  legislative  railroad  committee.  Examinations  and  cross-exam- 
inations of  railroad  commissioners  and  lobbyists  were  kept  up.  Scarely  more 
than  one  man,  Senator  Ballard,  of  Darien,  aided  me  personally  in  the  investiga- 
tions which  took  place.  But  he  was  a  host  in  himself,  and  left  not  a  stone 
unturned;  we  succeeded  by  persistence,  in  letting  in  considerable  light  upon  a 
dark  subject.  The  man  whom  I  had  prevented  from  being  made  chairman,  suc- 
ceeded in  becoming  a  member  of  the  railroad  committee;  but,  from  the  mouths  of 
unwilling  witnesses,  I  exhibited  his  connection  with  railroad  reports,  railroad 
laws,  and  railroad  lobbyings,  in  such  a  light  that  he  took  to  his  bed  some  ten  days 
before  the  end  of  the  session,  and  actually  remained  there  "  sick,"  as  he  said,  till 
the  legislature  adjourned 

The  speaker  offered  me  the  chairmanship  of  any  one  of  several  committees, 
and  I  selected  that  of  the  agricultural  committee,  because  it  would  occupy  but 
little  of  my  time,  and  give  me  the  opportunity  I  so  much  desired  to  devote  my 
attention  to  the  railway  combinations.  The  Republicans  had  a  majority  in  both 
branches  of  the  legislature;  the  Democrats,  however,  were  watchful  and  ener- 
getic. The  amendment  to  the  United  States  Constitution,  abolishing  slavery, 
met  with  but  little  open  opposition ;  but  the  proposed  amendment  to  the  State 
Constitution,  striking  out  the  word  "  white  "  from  that  clause  which  defined  the 
qualifications  of  voters,  was  violently  opposed  by  the  Democratic  members.  The 
report  from  the  minority  of  the  committee  to  whom  the  question  was  referred, 
gave  certain  reasons  for  opposing  the  contemplated  amendment,  and  in  reply  to 
this,  I  spoke,  May  26th,  1865,  as  follows: 

SPEECH  OF  P.  T.  BARNUM, 

ON  THE  CONSTITUTIONAL,  AMENDMENT. 

Mr.  Speaker:  I  will  not  attempt  to  notice  at  any  length  the  declamation  of 
the  honorable  gentleman  from  Milford,  for  certainly  I  have  heard  nothing  from 
his  lips  approach  tng  to  the  dignity  of  argument.  I  agree  with  the  gentleman 


234  POLITICAL   AND    PERSONAL. 

that  the  right  of  suffrage  is  "dearly  and  sacredly  cherished  by  the  white  mau; " 
and  it  is  because  this  right  is  so  dear  and  sacred,  that  I  wish  to  see  it  extended  to 
every  educated  moral  man  within  our  State,  without  regard  to  color.  He  tells 
us  that  one  race  is  a  vessel  to  honor,  and  another  to  dishonor;  and  that  he  has 
seen  on  ancient  Egyptian  monuments  the  negro  represented  as  "  a  hewer  of  wood 
and  a  drawer  or  water."  This  is  doubtless  true,  and  the  gentleman  seems  deter 
mined  always  to  keep  the  negro  a  "  vessel  of  dishonor,"  and  a  "  hewer  of  wood." 
We,  on  the  other  hand,  propose  to  give  him  the  opportunity  of  expanding  his 
faculties  and  elevating  himself  to  true  manhood.  He  says  he  "  hates  and  abhors, 
and  despises  demagogism."  I  am  rejoiced  to  hear  it,  and  I  trust  we  shall  see 
tangible  evidence  of  the  truth  of  what  he  professes  in  his  abandonment  of  that 
slavery  to  party  which  is  the  mere  trick  and  trap  of  the  demagogue. 

When,  a  few  days  since,  this  honorable  body  voted  unanimously  for  the 
Amendment  of  the  United  States  Constitution  abolishing  human  slavery,  I  not 
only  thanked  God  from  my  heart  of  hearts,  but  I  felt  like  going  down  on  my 
knees  to  the  gentlemen  of  the  opposition,  for  the  wisdom  they  had  exhibited 
in  bowing  to  the  logic  of  events  by  dropping  that  dead  weight  of  slavery 
which  had  disrupted  the  Democratic  party,  with  which  I  had  been  so  long 
connected.  And  on  this  occasion  I  wish  again  to  appeal  to  the  wisdom  and  loy- 
alty of  my  Democratic  Mends.  I  say  Democratic  "  friends,"  for  I  am  and  ever 
was,  a  thorough,  out  and  out  Democrat.  I  supported  General  Jackson,  and 
voted  for  every  Democratic  president  after  him,  up  to  and  including  Pierce;  for 
I  really  thought  Pierce  was  a  Democrat  until  he  proved  the  contrary,  as  I  con- 
ceived, in  the  Kansas  question.  My  democracy  goes  for  the  greatest  good  to  the 
greatest  number,  for  equal  and  exact  justice  to  all  men,  and  for  a  submission  to 
the  will  of  the  majority.  It  was  the  repudiation  by  the  southern  democracy  of 
this  great  democratic  doctrine  of  majority  rule  which  opened  the  rebellion. 

And  now,  Mr.  Speaker,  let  me  remind  our  democratic  friends  that  the  present 
question  simply  asks  that  a  majority  of  the  legal  voters,  the  white  citizens  of  this 
State,  may  decide  whether  or  not  colored  men  of  good  moral  character,  who  are 
able  to  read,  and  who  possess  all  the  qualifications  of  white  voters,  shn.11  be 
entitled  to  the  elective  franchise.  The  opposition  may  have  their  own  ideas,  or 
may  be  in  doubt  upon  this  subject;  but  surely  no  true  democrat  will  dare  to 
refuse  permission  to  our  fellow-citizens  to  decide  the  question. 

Negro  slavery,  and  its  legitimate  outgrowths  of  ignorance,  tyranny  and  oppres- 
sion, have  caused  this  gigantic  rebellion  which  has  cost  our  country  thousands  of 
millions  of  treasure,  and  hundreds  of  thousands  of  human  lives  in  defending  a 
principle.  And  where  was  this  poor,  down-trodden  colored  race  in  this  rebellion? 
Did  they  seize  the  "  opportunity"  when  their  masters  were  engaged  with  a  pow- 
erful foe,  to  break  out  in  insurrection,  and  massacre  those  tyrants  who  had  so 
long  held  them  in  the  most  cruel  bondage  ?  No,  Mr.  Speaker,  they  did  not  do  this. 
My  "  democratic  "  friends  would  have  done  it.  I  would  have  done  it.  Irishmen, 
Chinamen,  Portuguese,  would  have  done  it;  any  white  man  would  have  done  it; 
put  the  poor  black  man  is  like  a  lamb  in  his  nature  compared  with  the  white 
man.  The  black  man  possesses  a  confiding  disposition,  thoroughly  tinctured  with 
religious  enthusiasm,  and  not  characterized  by  a  spirit  of  revenge.  No,  the  only 
barbarous  massacres  we  heard  of,  during  the  war,  were  those  committed  by 
their  white  masters  on  their  poor,  defenceless  white  prisoners,  and  to  the  eternal 
disgrace  of  southern  white  "democratic"  rebels,  be  it  said,  these  instances  of 
barbarism  were  numerous  all  through  the  war.  When  this  rebellion  first  broke 
out.  the  northern  democracy  raised  a  hue-and-cry  against  permitting  the  negroes 


POLITICAL  AND   PERSONAL.  235 

to  fight;  but  when  such  a  measure  seemed  necessary,  in  order  to  put  down 
traitors,  these  colored  men  took  their  muskets  in  hand  and  made  their  bodies  a 
wall  of  defence  for  the  loyal  citizens  of  the  north.  And  now,  when  our  grateful 
white  citizens  ask  from  this  assembly  the  privilege  of  deciding  by  their  votes 
whether  these  colored  men,  who,  at  least,  were  partially  our  saviors  in  the  war, 
may  or  may  not,  under  proper  restrictions,  become  participants  in  that  great 
salvation,  I  am  amazed  that  men  calling  themselves  democrats  dare  refuse  to 
grant  this  democratic  measure.  We  wish  to  educate  ignorant  men,  white  or 
black.  Ignorance  is  incompatible  with  the  genius  of  our  free  institutions.  In 
the  very  nature  of  things  it  jeopardizes  their  stability,  and  it  is  always  unsafe  to 
transgress  the  laws  of  nature.  We  cannot  safely  shut  ourselves  up  with  ignorance 
and  brutality;  we  must  educate  and  christianize  those  who  are  now  by  circum- 
stances our  social  inferiors. 

Years  ago,  I  was  afraid  of  foreign  voters.  I  feared  that  when  Europe  poured 
her  teeming  millions  of  working  people  upon  our  shores,  our  extended  laws  of 
franchise  •would  enable  them  to  swamp  our  free  institutions,  and  reduce  us  to 
anarchy.  But  much  reflection  has  satisfied  me  that  we  have  only  to  elevate  these 
millions  and  their  descendants  to  the  standard  of  American  citizenship,  and  we 
shall  find  sufficient  of  the  leaven  of  liberty  in  our  system  of  government  to 
absorb  all  foreign  elements  and  assimilate  them  to  a  truly  democratic  form  of 
government. 

Mr.  Speaker:  We  cannot  afford  to  carry  passengers  and  have  them  live  under 
our  government  with  no  real  vital  interest  in  its  perpetuity.  Every  man  must 
be  a  joint  owner. 

The  only  safe  inhabitants  of  a  free  country  are  educated  citizens  who  vote. 

Nor  in  a  free  government  can  we  afford  to  employ  journeymen;  they  may  be 
apprenticed  until  they  learn  to  read,  and  study  our  institutions;  and  then  let 
them  become  joint  proprietors  and  feel  a  proportionate  responsibility.  The  two 
learned  and  distinguished  authors  of  the  minority  report  have  been  studying  the 
science  of  ethnology  and  have  treated  us  with  a  dissertation  on  the  races.  And 
what  have  they  attempted  to  show  ?  Why,  that  a  race  which,  simply  on  account 
of  the  color  of  the  skin,  has  long  been  buried  in  slavery  at  the  South,  and  even 
at  the  North  has  been  tabooed  and  scarcely  permitted  to  rise  above  the  dignity  of 
whitewashers  and  boot-blacks,  does  not  exhibit  the  same  polish  and  refinement 
that  the  white  citizens  do  who  have  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  civilization,  edu- 
cation, Christian  culture  and  self-respect  which  can  only  be  attained  by  those 
who  share  in  making  the  laws  under  which  they  live. 

Do  our  democratic  friends  assume  that  the  negroes  are  not  human  ?  I  have 
heard  professed  democrats  claim  even  that ;  but  do  the  authors  of  this  minority 
report  insist  that  the  negro  is  a  beast  ?  Is  his  body  not  tenanted  by  an  immortal 
spirit  ?  If  this  is  the  position  of  the  gentlemen,  then  I  confess  a  beast  cannot 
reason,  and  this  minority  committee  are  right  in  declaring  that  "the  negro  can 
develop  no  inventive  faculties  or  genius  for  the  arts."  For  although  the  elephant 
may  be  taught  to  plow,  or  the  dog  to  carry  your  market-basket  by  his  teeth,  you 
cannot  teach  them  to  shave  notes,  to  speculate  in  gold,  or  even  to  vote;  whereas, 
the  experience  of  all  political  parties  shows  that  men  may  be  taught  to  vote,  even 
when  they  do  not  know  what  the  ticket  means. 

But  if  the  colored  man  is  indeed  a  man,  then  his  manhood  with  proper  training 
can  be  developed.  His  soul  may  appear  dormant,  his  brain  inactive,  but  there  is  a 
vitality  there ;  and  Nature  will  assert  herself  if  you  will  give  her  the  opportunity. 

Suppose  an  inhabitant  of  another  planet  should  drop  down  upon  this  portion  of 


236  POLITICAL  AND   PERSONAL. 

our  globe  at  mid-winter.  He  would  find  the  earth  covered  with  snow  and  ice 
and  congealed  almost  to  the  consistency  of  granite.  The  trees  are  leafless,  every 
thing  is  cold  and  barren;  no  green  thing  is  to  be  seen;  the  inhabitants  are  chilled, 
and  stalk  about  shivering,  from  place  to  place;  he  would  exclaim,  "  Surely  t^  is 
not  life;  this  means  annihilation.  No  flesh  and  blood  can  long  endure  this;  this 
frozen  earth  is  bound  in  the  everlasting  embraces  of  adamantine  frost,  and  can 
never  develop  vegetation  for  the  sustenance  of  any  living  thing."  He  little 
dreams  of  the  priceless  myriads  of  germs  which  bountiful  Nature  has  safely 
garnered  in  the  warm  bosom  of  our  mother  earth;  he  sees  no  evidence  of  that 
vitality  which  the  beneficent  sun  will  develop  to  grace  and  beautify  the  world. 
But  let  him  remain  until  March  or  April,  and  as  the  snow  begins  to  melt  away, 
he  discovers  the  beautiful  crocus  struggling  through  the  half -frozen  ground;  the 
snow-drops  appear  in  all  their  chaste  beauty;  the  buds  of  the  swamp-maple  shoot 
forth;  the  beautiful  magnolia  opens  her  splendid  blossoms;  the  sassafras  adds  its 
evidence  of  life;  the  pearl-white  blossoms  of  the  dog-wood  light  up  every  forest; 
and  while  our  stranger  is  rubbing  his  eyes  in  astonishment,  the  earth  is  covered 
with  her  emerald  velvet  carpet;  rich  foliage  and  brilliant  colored  blossoms  adorn 
the  trees;  fragrant  flowers  are  enwreathing  every  wayside;  the  swift-winged 
birds  float  through  the  air  and  send  forth  joyful  notes  of  gratitude  from  every 
tree-top;  the  merry  lambs  skip  joyfully  around  their  verdant  pasture  grounds; 
and  everywhere  is  our  stranger  surrounded  with  life,  beauty,  joy  and  gladness. 

So  it  is  with  the  poor  African.  You  may  take  a  dozen  specimens  of  both  sexes 
from  the  lowest  type  of  man  found  in  Africa;  their  race  has  been  buried  for  ages 
in  ignorance  and  barbarism,  and  you  can  scarcely  perceive  that  they  have  any 
more  of  manhood  or  womanhood  than  so  many  orang-outangs  or  gorillas.  You 
look  at  their  low  foreheads,  their  thick  skulls  and  lips,  their  woolly  heads,  their 
flat  noses,  their  dull,  lazy  eyes,  and  you  may  be  tempted  to  adopt  the  language 
of  this  minority  committee,  and  exclaim:  Surely  these  people  have  "no  inven- 
tive faculties,  no  genius  for  the  arts,  or  for  any  of  those  occupations  requiring 
intellect  and  wisdom."  But  bring  them  out  into  the  light  of  civilization;  le<~ 
them  and  their  children  come  into  the  genial  sunshine  of  Christianity;  teach  them 
industry,  self-reliance,  and  self-respect ;  let  them  learn  what  too  few  white  Chris- 
tians have  yet  understood,  that  cleanliness  is  akin  to  godliness,  and  a  part  of 
godlhiess;  and  the  human  soul  will  begin  to  develop  itself.  Each  generation, 
blessed  with  churches  and  common  schools,  will  gradually  exhibit  the  result  of 
such  culture;  the  low  foreheads  will  be  raised  and  widened  by  an  active  and 
expanded  brain;  the  vacant  eye  of  barbarism,  ignorance  and  idleness  will  light 
up  with  the  fire  of  intelligence,  education,  ambition,  activity  and  Christian  civili- 
zation; and  you  will  find  the  immortal  soul  asserting  her  dignity,  by  the 
development  of  a  man  who  would  startle,  by  his  intelligence,  the  honorable  gen 
tleman  from  Wallingford,  who  has  presumed  to  compare  beings  made  in  God's 
image  with  "oxen  and  asses."  That  honorable  gentleman,  if  he  is  rightly 
reported  in  the  papers  (I  did  not  have  the  happiness  to  hear  his  speech),  has  mis- 
taken the  nature  of  the  colored  man.  The  honorable  gentleman  reminds  me  of 
the  young  man  who  went  abroad,  and  when  he  returned,  there  was  nothing  in 
America  that  could  compare  with  what  he  had  seen  in  foreign  lands.  Niagara 
Falls  was  nowhere;  the  White  Mountains  were  "knocked  higher  than  a  kite" 
by  Mont  Blanc;  our  rivers  were  so  large  that  they  were  vulgar,  when  contrasted 
with  the  beautiful  little  streams  and  rivulets  of  Europe;  our  New  York  Central 
Park  was  eclipsed  by  the  Bois  de  Bologne  and  the  Champs  Elysees  of  Paris,  or 
Hyde  or  Regent  Park  of  London,  to  say  nothing  of  the  great  Phoenix  Park  at 
Dublin. 


POLITICAL   AND   PERSONAL.  237 

"Iney  have  introduced  a  couple  of  Venetian  gondolas  on  the  large  pond  in 
Central  Park,"  remarked  a  friend. 

"  All  very  well,"  replied  the  verdant  traveler,  "  but,  between  you  and  me,  these 
birds  can't  stand  our  cold  climate  more  than  one  season."  The  gentleman  from 
Wallingf ord  evidently  had  as  little  idea  of  the  true  nature  of  the  African  as  the 
young  swell  had  of  the  pleasure-boats  of  Venice. 

Mr.  Johnson,  of  Wallingf  ord:  The  gentleman  misapprehends  my  remarks. 
The  gentleman  from  Norwich  had  urged  that  the  negro  should  vote  because  they 
have  fought  in  our  battles.  I  replied  that  oxen  and  asses  can  fight,  and  therefore 
should,  on  the  same  grounds,  be  entitled  to  vote. 

Mr.  Barnum:  I  accept  the  gentleman's  explanation.  Doubtless  General  Grant 
will  feel  himself  highly  complimented  when  he  learns  that  it  requires  no  greater 
capacity  to  handle  the  musket,  and  meet  armed  battalions  in  the  field,  than  "  oxen 
and  asses  "  possess. 

Let  the  educated  free  negro  feel  that  he  is  a  man;  let  him  be  trained  in  New 
England  churches,  schools  and  workshops;  let  him  support  himself,  pay  his  taxes, 
and  cast  his  vote,  like  other  men,  and  he  will  put  to  everlasting  shame  the  cham- 
pions of  modern  democracy,  by  the  overwhelming  evidence  he  will  give  in  his  own 
person  of  the  great  Scripture  truth,  that  "  God  has  made  of  one  blood  all  the 
nations  of  men."  A  human  soul,  "that  God  has  created  and  Christ  died  for,"  is 
not  to  be  trifled  with.  It  may  tenant  the  body  of  a  Chinaman,  a  Turk,  an  Arab 
or  a  Hottentot — it  is  still  an  immortal  spirit;  and,  amid  all  assumptions  of  caste,  it 
will  in  due  time  vindicate  the  great  fact  that,  without  regard  to  color  or  condition, 
all  men  are  equally  children  of  the  common  Father. 

A  few  years  since,  an  English  lord  and  his  family  were  riding  in  his  carriage  in 
Liverpool.  It  was  an  elegant  equipage;  the  servants  were  dressed  in  rich  livery; 
the  horses  caparisoned  in  the  most  costly  style ;  and  everything  betokened  that 
the  establishment  belonged  to  a  scion  of  England's  proudest  aristocracy.  The 
carriage  stopped  in  front  of  a  palatial  residence.  At  this  moment  a  poor  beggar 
woman  rushed  to  the  side  of  the  carriage,  and  gently  seizing  the  lady  by  the 
hand,  exclaimed,  "  For  the  love  of  God  give  me  something  to  save  my  poor  sick 
children  from  starvation.  You  are  rich;  I  am  your  poor  sister,  for  God  is  our 
common  Father." 

"Wretch  !"  exclaimed  the  proud  lady,  casting  the  woman's  hand  away;  "don't 
call  me  sister;  I  have  nothing  in  common  with  such  low  brutes  as  you."  And  the 
great  lady  doubtless  thought  she  was  formed  of  finer  clay  than  this  suffering 
mendicant ;  but  when  a  few  days  afterwards  she  was  brought  to  a  sick  bed  by 
the  small-pox,  contracted  by  touching  the  hand  of  that  poor  wretch,  she  felt  the 
evidence  that  they  belonged  to  the  same  great  family,  and  were  subject  to  the 
same  pains  and  diseases. 

The  State  of  Connecticut,  like  New  Jersey,  is  a  border  State  of  New  York. 
New  York  has  a  great  commercial  city,  where  aldermen  rob  by  the  tens  of  thou- 
sands, and  where  principal  is  studied  much  more  than  principle.  I  can  readily 
understand  how  the  negro  has  come  to  be  debased  at  the  North  as  well  as  at  the 
South.  The  interests  of  the  two  sections  in  the  product  of  negro  labor  were 
nearly  identical  The  North  wanted  Southern  cotton  and  the  South  was  ready 
in  turn  to  buy  from  the  North  whatever  was  needed  in  the  way  of  Northern 
supplies  and  manufactures.  This  community  of  commercial  interests  led  to  an 
identity  in  political  principles,  especially  in  matters  pertaining  to  the  negro  race — 
the  working  race  of  the  South — which  produced  the  cotton  and  consumed  so  much 
of  what  Northern  merchants  and  manufacturers  sold  for  plantation  use.  The 


238  POLITICAL  AND    PERSONAL. 

Southern  planters  were  good  customers  and  were  worth  conciliating.  So  when 
Connecticut  proposed  in  1818  to  continue  to  admit  colored  men  to  the  franchise, 
the  South  protested  against  thus  elevating  the  negroes,  and  Connecticut  suc- 
cumbed. No  other  New  England  State  has  ever  so  disgraced  herself;  and  now 
Connecticut  democrats  are  asked  to  permit  the  white  citizens  of  this  State  to 
express  their  opinion  in  regard  to  re-instating  the  colored  man  where  our  Revo- 
lutionary sires  placed  him  under  the  Constitution.  Now,  gentlemen,  "  democrats," 
as  you  call  yourselves,  you  who  speak  so  flippantly  of  your  "loyalty,"  your 
"love  for  the  Union"  and  your  "love  for  the  people;"  you  who  are  generally 
talking  right  and  voting  wrong,  we  ask  you  to  come  forward  and  act  "democrati- 
cally," by  letting  your  masters,  the  people,  speak. 

The  word  ' '  white  "  in  the  Constitution  cannot  be  strictly  and  literally  construed. 
The  opposition  express  great  love  for  white  blood.  Will  they  let  a  mulatto  vote 
half  the  time,  a  quadroon  three-fourths,  and  an  octoroon  seven-eighths  of  the 
time  ?  If  not,  why  not  ?  Will  they  enslave  seven-eighths  of  a  white  man  because 
one-eighth  is  not  Caucasian  ?  Is  this  democratic  ?  Shall  not  the  majority  seven 
control  the  minority  one ?  Out  on  such  "democracy." 

But  a  Democratic  minority  committee  (of  two)  seem  to  have  done  something 
besides  study  ethnology.  They  have,  also  paid  great  attention  to  fine  arts,  and  are 
particularly  anxious  that  all  voters  shall  have  a  "  genius  for  the  arts."  I  would 
like  to  ask  them  if  it  has  always  been  political  practice  to  insist  that  every  voter 
in  the  great  "  unwashed  "  and  "  unterrified  "  of  any  party  should  become  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Academy  of  Arts  before  he  votes  the  "  regular"  ticket  ?  I  thought  he 
was  received  into  the  full  fellowship  of  a  political  party  if  he  could  exhibit  suffi- 
cient "inventive  faculties  and  genius  for  the  arts,"  to  enable  him  to  paint  a  black 
eye.  Can  a  man  whose  "genius  for  the  arts"  enables  him  to  strike  from  the 
shoulder  scientifically,  be  admitted  to  full  fellowship  in  a  political  party  ?  Is  it 
evident  that  the  political  artist  has  studied  the  old  masters,  if  he  exhibits  his  genius 
by  tapping  an  opponent's  head  with  a  shillelagh?  The  oldest  master  in  this 
school  of  art  was  Cain ;  and  so  canes  have  been  made  to  play  their  part  in  politics, 
at  the  polls  and  even  in  the  United  States  Senate  Chamber. 

"  Is  genius  for  the  arts  and  those  occupations  requiring  intellect  and  wisdom  " 
sufficiently  exemplified  in  adroitly  stuffing  ballot-boxes,  forging  soldiers'  votes, 
and  copying  a  directory,  as  has  been  done,  as  the  return  list  of  votes  ?  Is  the 
"  inventive  faculty  "  of  "  voting  early  and  often,"  a  passport  to  political  brother- 
hood? Is  it  satisfactory  evidence  of  "artistic"  genius,  to  head  a  mob?  and  a 
mob  which  is  led  and  guided  by  political  passion,  as  numerous  instances  in  our 
history  prove,  is  the  worst  of  mobs.  Is  it  evidence  of  "high  art  "  to  lynch  a  man 
by  hauging  him  to  the  nearest  tree  or  lamp-post  ?  Is  a  "whisky  scrimmage" 
one  of  the  lost  arts  restored  1  We  all  know  how  certain  "artists"  are  prone  to 
embellish  elections  and  to  enhance  the  excitements  of  political  campaigns  by 
inciting  riots,  and  the  frequency  with  which  these  disgraceful  outbreaks  have 
occurred  of  late,  especially  in  some  of  the  populous  cities,  is  cause  for  just  alarm. 
It  is  dangerous  "art." 

Mr.  Speaker:  I  repeat  that  I  am  a  friend  to  the  Irishman.  I  have  traveled 
through  his  native  country  and  have  seen  how  he  is  oppressed.  I  have  listened  to 
the  eloquent  and  patriotic  appeals  of  Daniel  O'Connell,  in  Conciliation  Hall,  in 
Dublin,  and  I  have  gladly  contributed  to  his  fund  for  ameliorating  the  condition 
of  his  countrymen.  I  rejoice  to  see  them  rushing  to  this  land  of  liberty  and  inde- 
pendence; and  it  is  because  I  am  their  friend  that  I  denounce  the  demagogues 
who  attempt  to  blind  and  mislead  them  to  vote  in  the  interests  of  any  party 


POLITICAL   AND    PERSONAL.  239 

against  the  interests  of  humanity,  and  the  principles  of  true  democracy.  My 
neighbors  will  testify  that  at  mid-winter  I  employ  Irishmen  by  the  hundred  to 
do  work  that  is  not  absolutely  necessary,  in  order  to  help  them  support  their 
families. 

After  hearing  the  minority  report  last  week,  I  began  to  feel  that  I  might  be 
disfranchised,  for  I  have  no  great  degree  of  "genius  for  the  arts;"  I  felt,  there- 
fore, that  I  must  get  "posted"  on  that  subject  as  soon  as  possible.  I  at  once 
sauntered  into  the  Senate  Chamber  to  look  at  the  paintings;  there  I  saw  portraits 
of  great  men,  and  I  saw  two  empty  frames  from  which  the  pictures  had  been 
removed.  These  missing  paintings,  I  was  told,  were  portraits  of  two  ex-Gov- 
ernors of  the  State,  whose  position  on  political  affairs  was  obnoxious  to  the 
dominant  party  in  the  Legislature;  and  especially  obnoxious  were  the  supposed 
sentiments  of  these  governors  on  the  war.  Therefore,  the  Senate  voted  to  remove 
the  pictures,  and  thus  proved  as  it  would  seem,  that  there  is  an  intimate  connec- 
tion between  politics  and  art. 

I  have  repeatedly  traveled  through  every  State  in  the  South,  and  I  assert,  what 
every  intelligent  officer  and  soldier  who  has  resided  there  will  corroborate,  that 
the  slaves,  as  a  body,  are  more  intelligent  than  the  poor  whites.  No  man  who  has 
not  been  there  can  conceive  to  what  a  low  depth  of  ignorance  the  poor  snuff-tak- 
ing, clay-eating  whites  of  some  portion  of  the  South  have  descended.  I  trust 
the  day  is  not  far  distant  when  the  "  common  school "  shall  throw  its  illuminating 
rays  through  this  Egyptian  pall. 

I  have  known  slave  mechanics  to  be  sold  for  $3,000,  and  even  $5,000  each,  and 
others  could  not  be  bought  at  all;  and  I  have  seen  intelligent  slaves  acting  as 
stewards  for  their  masters,  traveling  every  year  to  New  Orleans,  Nashville,  and 
even  to  Cincinnati,  to  dispose  of  their  master's  crops.  The  free  colored  citizens  of 
Opelousas,  St.  Martinsville,  and  all  the  Attakapas  country  in  Louisiana,  are  as 
respectable  and  intelligent  as  an  ordinary  community  of  whites.  They  speak  the 
French  and  English  languages,  educate  their  children  in  music  and  "the  arts," 
and  they  pay  their  taxes  on  more  than  fifteen  millions  of  dollars. 

Gentlemen  of  the  opposition,  I  beseech  you  to  remember  that  our  State  and  our 
country  ask  from  us  something  more  than  party  tactics.  It  is  absolutely  necessary 
that  the  loyal  blacks  at  the  South  should  vote  in  order  to  save  the  loyal  whites. 
Let  Connecticut,  without  regard  to  party,  set  them  an  example  that  shall  influence 
the  action  at  the  South,  and  prevent  a  new  form  of  slavery  from  arising  there, 
which  shall  make  all  our  expenditure  of  blood  and  treasure  fruitless. 

But  some  persons  have  this  color  prejudice  simply  by  the  force  of  education, 
ctnd  they  say,  "Well,  a  nigger  is  a  nigger,  and  he  can't  be  anything  else.  I  hate 
niggers,  anyhow."  Twenty  years  ago  I  crossed  the  Atlantic,  and  among  our 
passengers  was  an  Irish  judge,  who  was  coming  out  to  Newfoundland  as  chief 
justice.  He  was  an  exceedingly  intelligent  and  polished  gentleman,  and  extremely 
witty.  The  passengers  from  the  New  England  States  and  those  from  the  South 
got  into  a  discussion  on  the  subject  of  slavery,  which  lasted  three  days.  The 
Southerners  were  finally  worsted,  and  when  their  arguments  were  exhausted, 
they  fell  back  on  the  old  story,  by  saying:  "Oh !  curse  a  nigger,  he  ain't  half 
human  anyhow;  he  had  no  business  to  be  a  nigger,  etc."  One  of  the  gentlemen 
t>>en  turned  to  the  Irish  judge,  and  asked  his  opinion  of  the  merits  of  the  contro- 
versy The  judge  replied: 

"  Gentlemen,  I  have  listened  with  much  edification  to  your  arguments  pro  and 
con  during  three  days.  I  was  quite  inclined  to  think  the  anti-slavery  gentlemen 
had  justice  and  right  on  their  side,  but  the  last  argument  from  the  South  has 


240  POLITICAL  AND   PERSONAL. 

changed  my  mind.  I  say  a  '  nigger  has  no  business  to  be  a  nigger,'  and  we  should 
kick  Him  out  of  society  and  trample  him  under  foot — always  provided,  gentle- 
men, you  prove  he  was  born  black  ac  Ms  own  particular  request.  If  he  had  no 
word  to  say  in  the  matter  of  course  he  is  blameless  for  his  color,  and  is  entitled 
to  the  same  respect  that  other  men  are  who  properly  behave  themselves  1" 

Mr.  Speaker:  I  am  no  politician;  I  came  to  this  legislature  simply  because  1 
wish  to  have  the  honor  of  voting  for  the  two  constitutional  amendments— one  for 
driving  slavery  entirely  out  of  our  country;  the  other  to  allow  men  of  education 
and  good  moral  character  to  vote,  regardless  of  the  color  of  their  skins.  To  give 
my  voice  for  these  two  philanthropic,  just,  and  Christian  measures  is  all  the  glory 
I  ask  legislativewise.  I  care  nothing  whatever  for  any  sect  or  party  under  heaven, 
as  such.  I  have  no  axes  to  grind,  no  logs  to  roll,  no  favors  to  ask.  All  I  desire 
is  to  do  what  is  right,  and  prevent  what  is  wrong.  I  believe  in  no  "  expediency  " 
that  is  not  predicated  of  justice,  for  in  all  things — politics,  as  well  as  everything 
else — I  know  that  "honesty  is  the  best  policy."  A  retributive  Providence  will 
unerringly  and  speedily  search  out  all  wrong-doing ;  hence,  right  is  always  the  best 
in  the  long  run.  Certainly,  in  the  light  of  the  great  American  spirit  of  liberty 
and  equal  rights  which  is  sweeping  over  this  country,  and  making  the  thrones  of 
tyrants  totter  in  the  Old  World,  no  party  can  afford  to  carry  slavery,  either  of 
body  or  of  mind.  Knock  off  your  manacles  and  let  the  man  go  free.  Take  down 
the  blinds  from  his  intellect,  and  let  in  the  light  of  education  and  Christian  cul- 
ture. When  this  is  done  you  have  developed  a  man.  Give  him  the  responsibility 
of  a  man  and  the  self-respect  of  a  man,  by  granting  him  the  right  of  suffrage. 
Let  universal  education,  and  the  universal  franchise  be  the  motto  of  free  America, 
and  the  toning  millions  of  Europe,  who  are  watching  you  with  such  intense 
interest,  will  hail  us  as  their  saviors.  Let  us  loyally  sink  "  party  "  on  this  ques- 
tion, and  go  for  "  God  and  our  Country."  Let  no  man  attach  an  eternal  stigma 
to  his  name  by  shutting  his  eyes  to  the  great  lesson  of  the  hour,  and  voting  against 
permitting  the  people  to  express  their  opinion  on  this  important  subject.  Let  us 
unanimously  grant  this  truly  democratic  boon.  Then,  when  our  laws  of  fran- 
chise are  settled  on  a  just  basis,  let  future  parties  divide  where  they  honestly  differ 
on  State  or  national  questions  which  do  not  trench  upon  the  claims  of  manhood 
or  American  citizenship. 


CHAPTER    XXXIX. 

THE   AMERICAN   MUSEUM   IN    RUINS. 

ON  the  thirteenth  day  of  July,  1865,  I  was  speaking  in  the  Connecticut  Legis- 
lature, in  session  at  Hartford,  against  the  railroad  schemes,  when  a  telegram  was 
nanded  to  me  from  my  son-in-law,  S.  H.  Hurd,  my  assistant  manager  in  New 
York,  stating  that  the  American  Museum  was  in  flames,  and  that  its  total  destruc- 
tion was  certain.  I  glanced  over  the  despatch,  folded  it,  laid  it  on  my  desk, 
and  calmly  continued  my  speech  as  if  nothing  had  happened.  At  the  conclusion 
of  my  remarks,  the  bill  I  had  been  advocating  was  carried,  and  the  House 
adjourned.  I  then  handed  the  telegram,  announcing  my  great  loss  in  New  York, 
to  my  friend  and  fellow-laborer,  Mr.  William  G.  Coe,  of  Winsted,  who  immedi- 
ately communicated  the  intelligence  to  several  members.  Warm  sympathizers 
at  once  crowded  around  me,  and  Mr.  Henry  B.  Harrison,  of  New  Haven,  my 
strongest  railroad  opponent,  pushing  forward,  seized  me  by  the  hand,  and  said: 

"  Mr.  Barnum,  I  am  really  very  sorry  to  hear  of  your  great  misfortune." 

"  Sorry,"  I  replied,  "  why,  my  dear  sir,  I  shall  not  have  time  to  be  '  sorry '  in  a 
week  1  It  will  take  me  that  length  of  time  before  I  can  get  over  laughing  at 
having  whipped  you  all  so  nicely  in  this  attempted  railroad  imposition." 

The  Speaker  of  the  House  and  many  of  my  fellow-members  testified  that 
neither  my  face  nor  my  manner  betrayed  the  slightest  intimation,  when  I  read 
the  telegram,  that  I  had  received  unpleasant  intelligence.  One  of  the  local  jour- 
nals, speaking  of  this  incident,  two  days  after  the  fire,  said: 

In  the  midst  of  Mr.  Barnum's  speech,  a  telegram  was  handed  to  him,  announcing  that 
his  Museum  was  in  flames,  with  no  hope  of  saving  any  portion  of  his  cherished  establish- 
ment. Without  the  slightest  evidence  of  agitation,  he  laid  the  telegram  upon  his  desk  and 
finished  his  speech.  When  he  went  next  day  to  New  York  he  saw  only  a  pile  of  black, 
smouldering  ruins. 

Immediately  after  adjournment  that  afternoon,  I  took  the  cars  for  Bridgeport, 
spending  the  night  quietly  at  home,  and  the  following  morning  I  went  to  New 
York  to  see  the  ruins  of  my  Museum,  and  to  learn  the  full  extent  of  the  disaster. 
When  I  arrived  at  the  scene  of  the  calamity  and  saw  nothing  but  the  smoulder- 
ing debris  of  what  a  few  hours  before  was  the  American  Museum,  the  sight  was 
sad  indeed.  Here  were  destroyed,  almost  in  a  breath,  the  accumulated  results  of 
many  years  of  incessant  toil,  my  own  and  my  predecessors,  in  gathering  from 
every  quarter  of  the  globe  myriads  of  curious  productions  of  nature  and  art — an 
assemblage  of  rarities  which  a  half  million  of  dollars  could  not  restore,  and  a 
quarter  of  a  century  could  not  collect.  In  addition  to  these  there  were  many 
Revolutionary  relics  and  other  links  in  our  national  history  which  never  could  be 
duplicated.  Not  a  thousand  dollars  worth  of  the  entire  property  was  saved;  the 
destruction  was  complete ;  the  loss  was  irreparable,  and  the  total  amount  of  insur- 
ance was  but  forty  thousand  dollars. 

The  fire  probably  originated  in  the  engine  room,  where  steam  was  constantly 
kept  up  to  pump  fresh  air  into  the  water  of  the  aquaria  and  to  propel  the  immense 
fans  for  cooling  the  atmosphere  of  the  halls. 

11  241 


242  THE    AMERICAN    MUSEUM    IN   RUIN'S. 

All  the  New  York  newspapers  made  a  great  "sensation"  of  the  fire,  and  thu 
full  particulars  were  copied  in  journals  throughout  the  country.  A  facetious 
reporter,  Mr.  Nathan  D.  Urner,  of  the  Tribune,  wrote  the  following  amusing 
account,  which  appeared  in  that  journal,  July  14,  1865,  and  was  very  generally 
quoted  from  and  copied  by  provincial  papers,  many  of  whose  readers  accepted 
every  line  of  the  glowing  narrative  as  "gospel  truth:" 

Soon  after  the  breaking  out  of  the  conflagration,  a  number  of  strange  and  terrible  howls 
and  moans  proceeding  from  the  large  apartment  in  the  third  floor  of  the  Museum,  corner  of 
Ann  street  and  Broadway,  startled  the  throngs  who  had  collected  in  front  of  the  burning 
building,  and  who  were  at  first  under  the  impression  that  the  sounds  must  proceed  from 
human  beings  unable  to  effect  their  escape.  Their  anxiety  was  somewhat  rt'ieved  on  this 
score,  but  their  consternation  was  by  no  means  decreased  upon  learning  that  the  r  join  in 
question  was  the  principal  chamber  of  the  menagerie  connected  with  the  Museum,  and 
that  there  was  imminent  danger  of  the  release  of  the  animals  there  confined,  by  the  action 
of  the  flames.  Our  reporter  fortunately  occupied  a  room  on  the  north  corner  of  Ann  street 
and  Broadway,  the  windows  of  which  looked  immediately  into  this  apartment;  and  no 
sooner  was  he  apprised  of  the  fire  than  he  repaired  there,  confident  of  finding  items  in 
abundance.  Luckily  the  windows  of  the  Museum  were  unclosed,  and  he  had  a  perfect 
view  of  almost  the  entire  interior  of  the  apartment.  The  following  is  his  statement  of 
what  followed,  in  his  own  language: 

"  Protecting  myself  from  the  intense  heat  as  well  as  I  could,  by  taking  the  mattrass  from 
the  bed  and  erecting  it  as  a  bulwark  before  the  window,  with  only  enough  space  reserved 
on  the  top  so  as  to  look  out,  I  anxiously  observed  the  animals  in  the  opposite  room.  Imme- 
diately opposite  the  window  through  which  I  gazed,  was  a  lare^e  cage  containing  a  lion  and 
lioness.  To  the  right  hand  was  the  three-storied  cage,  containing  monkeys  at  the  top,  two 
kangaroos  in  the  second  story,  and  a  happy  family  of  cats,  rats,  adders,  rabbits,  etc.,  in  the 
lower  apartment.  To  the  left  of  the  lion's  cage  was  the  tank  containing  the  two  vast  alli- 
gators, and  still  further  to  the  left,  partially  hidden  from  my  sight,  was  the  grand  tank 
containing  the  great  white  whale,  which  has  created  such  a  furore  in  our  sight-seeing  midst 
for  the  past  few  weeks.  Upon  the  floor  were  caged  the  boa-constrictor,  anacondas  and 
rattlesnakes,  whose  heads  would  now  and  then  rise  menacingly  through  the  top  of  the 
cage.  In  the  extreme  right  was  the  cage,  entirely  shut  from  my  view  at  first,  containing 
the  Bengal  tiger  and  the  Polar  bear,  whose  terrific  growls  could  be  distinctly  heard  from 
behind  the  partition.  With  a  simultaneous  bound  the  lion  and  his  mate,  sprang  against  the 
bars,  which  gave  way  and  came  down  with  a  great  crash,  releasing  the  beasts,  which  for  a 
moment,  apparently  amazed  at  their  sudden  liberty,  stood  in  the  middle  of  the  floor  lashing 
their  sides  with  their  tails  and  roaring  dolefully. 

Almost  at  the  same  moment  the  upper  part  of  the  three-storied  cage,  consumed  by  the 
flames,  fell  forward,  letting  the  rods  drop  to  the  floor,  and  many  other  animals  were  set 
free.  Just  at  this  time  the  door  fell  through  and  the  flames  and  smoke  rolled  in  like  a 
whirlwind  from  the  Hadean  river  Cocytus.  A  horrible  scene  in  the  right-hand  corner  01 
the  room,  a  yell  of  indescribable  agony,  and  a  crashing,  grating  sound,  indicated  that  the 
tiger  and  Polar  bear  were  stirred  up  to  the  highest  pitch  of  excitement.  Then  there  came 
a  great  crash,  as  of  the  giving  way  of  the  bars  of  their  cage.  The  flames  and  smoke 
momentarily  rolled  back,  and  for  a  few  seconds  the  interior  of  the  room  was  visible  in  the 
lurid  light  of  the  flames,  which  revealed  the  tiger  and  the  lion,  locked  together  in  close 
combat. 

The  monkeys  were  perched  around  the  \vin.1ows  shivering  with  dread,  and  afraid  to  Jump 
out.  The  snakes  werewiithing  about,  crippled  and  blistered  by  the  heat,  darting  out 
their  forked  tongues,  and  expressing  their  rage  and  fear  in  the  most  sibilant  of  hisses. 
The  "Happy  Family"  were  experiencing  an  amount  of  beatitude  which  was  evidently  too 
cordial  for  philosophical  enjoyment.  A  long  tongue  of  flame  had  crept  under  the  cage, 
completely  singing  every  hair  from  the  cat's  body.  The  felicitous  adder  was  slowly  burn- 
ing in  two  and  busily  engaged  in  impregnating  his  organic  system  with  his  own  venom. 
The  joyful  rat  had  lost  his  tail  by  a  falling  bar  of  iron  ;  and  the  beatific  rabbit,  perforated 
by  a  red-hot  nail,  looked  as  if  nothing  would  be  more  grateful  than  a  cool  corner  in  some 
Esquimaux  farm-yard.  The  members  of  the  delectated  convocation  were  all  huddled 
together  in  the  bottom  of  their  cage,  which  suddenly  gave  way,  precipitating  them  out  of 
view  in  the  depths  below,  which  by  this  time  were  also  blazing  like  the  fabled  Tophet. 

At  this  moment  the  flames  rolled  again  into  the  room,  and  then  again  retired.  The 
whale  and  alligators  were  by  this  time  suffering  dreadful  torments.  The  water  in  which 
they  swam  was  literally  boiling.  The  alligators  dashed  fiercely  about  endeavoring  to 
escape,  and  opening  and  shutting  their  great  jaws  in  ferocious  torture  ;  but  the  poor  whale, 
almost  boiled,  with  great  ulcers  bursting  from  his  blubbery  sides,  could  only  feebly  swim 
about,  though  blowing  excessively,  and  every  now  and  then  sending  up  great  fountains  of 
spray.  At  length,  crack  went  the  glass  sides  of  the  great  cases,  and  whale  and  alligators 
rolled  out  on  the  floor  with  the  rushing  and  ^teaming  water.  The  whale  died  easily,  hiving 
been  pretty  well  used  up  before.  A  few  great  gasps  and  a  convulsive  flap  or  two  of  his  mighty 
flukes  were  his  expiring  spasm.  One  of  the  alligators  was  killed  almost  immediately  by 
falling  across  a  great  fragment  of  shattered  glass,  which  cut  open  his  stomach  and  let  out 
Ihe  greater  part  of  his  entrails  to  the  light  of  day.  Th°  remaining  alligator  became 


THE   AMERICAN   MUSEUM   IN   RUINS.  243 

Involved  in  a  controversy  with  an  anaconda,  and  joined  the  melee  in  the  center  of  the 
flaming  apartment. 

A  number  of  birds  which  were  caged  in  the  upper  part  of  the  building  were  set  free  by 
some  charitably  inclined  person  at  the  first  alarm  of  fire,  and  at  intervals  they  flew  out. 
There  were  many  valuable  tropical  birds,  parrots,  cockatoos,  mockingbirds,  humming- 
birds, etc.,  as  well  as  some  vultures  and  eagles,  and  one  condor.  Great  excitement  existed 
among  the  swaying  crowds  in  the  streets  below  as  they  took  wing.  There  were  confined  in 
the  same  room  a  few  serpents,  which  also  obtained  their  liberty;  and  soon  after  the  rising 
and  devouring  flames  began  to  enwrap  the  entire  building,  a  splendid  and  emblematic  sight 
wus  presented  to  the  wondering  and  upgazing  throngs.  Bursting  through  the  central  case- 
ment, with  flap  of  wings  and  lashing  coils,  appeared  ah  eagle  and  a  serpent  wreathed  in  fight. 
For  a  moment  they  hung  poised  in  mid-air,  presenting  a  novel  and  terrible  conflict.  It  was 
the  earth  and  air  (or  their  respective  representatives)  at  war  for  mastery;  the  base  and  the 
lofty,  the  groveller  and  the  soarer,  were  engaged  in  deadly  battle.  At  length  the  flat  head 
ol  the  serpent  sank;  his  writhing, sinuous  form  grew  still;  and  wafted  upward  by  the 
cheers  of  the  gazing  multitude,  the  eagle,  with  u  scream  of  triumph,  and  bearing  his  prey 
in  his  iron  talons,  soared  towards  the  sun.  Several  monkeys  escaped  from  the  burning 
building  to  the  neighboring  roofs  and  streets;  and  considerable  excitement  was  caused  by 
the  attempts  to  secure  them.  One  of  the  most  amusing  incidents*  in  this  respect,  was  in 
connection  with  Mr.  James  Gordon  Bennett.  The  veteran  editor  of  the  Herald  was  sitting 
in  his  private  office  with  his  back  to  the  open  window,  calmly  discussing  with  a  friend  the 
chances  that  the  1/erald  establishment  would  escape  the  conflagration,  which  at  that  time 
was  threateningly  advancing  up  Ann  street,  towards  Nassau  street.  In  the  course  of  his 
conversation,  Mr.  Bennett  observed:  "Although  I  have  usually  had  good  luck  in  cases  of 
fire,  they  say  that  the  devil  is  ever  at  one's  shoulder,  and" — Here  an  exclamation  from  his 
friend  interrupted  him,  and  turning  quickly  he  was  considerably  taken  aback  at  seeing  the 
devil  himself,  or  something  like  him,  at  his  very  shoulder  as  he  spoke.  Recovering  his 
equanimity,  with  the  ease  and  suavity  which  is  usual  with  him  in  all  company,  Mr.  Ben- 
nett was  about  to  address  the  intruder  when  he  perceived  that  what  he  had  taken  for  the 
gentleman  in  black  was  nothing  more  than  a  frightened  orang-outang.  The  poor  creature, 
but  recently  released  from  captivity,  and  doubtless  thinking  that  he  might  till  some  vacancy 
in  the  editorial  corps  of  the  paper  in  question,  had  descended  by  the  water-pipe  and  instinc- 
tively taken  refuge  in  the  inner  sanctum  of  the  establishment.  Although  the  editor — per- 
haps from  the  fact  that  he  saw  nothing  peculiarly  strange  in  the  visitation — soon  regained 
his  composure,  it  was  far  otherwise  with  his  friend,  who  immediately  gave  the  alarm.  Mr. 
Hudson  rushed  in  and  boldly  attacked  the  monkey,  grasping  him  by  the  throat.  The  book- 
editor  next  came  in,  obtaining  a  clutch  upon  the  brute  by  the  ears;  the  musical  critic 
followed,  and  seized  the  tail  with  both  hands,  and  a  number  of  reporters,  armed  with 
inkstands  and  sharpened  pencils,  came  next,  followed  by  a  dozen  policemen  with  brand- 
ished clubs ;  at  the  same  time,  the  engineer  in  the  basement,  received  the  preconcerted 
signal  and  got  ready  his  hose,  wherewith  to  pour  boiling  hot  water  upon  the  heads  of  those 
in  the  streets,  in  case  it  should  prove  a  regular  systematized  attack  by  gorillas,  Brazil  apes, 
and  chimpanzees.  Opposed  to  this  formidable  combination,  the  rash  intruder  fared  badly, 
and  was  soon  in  durance  vile.  Numerous  other  incidents  of  a  Similar  kind  occurred  ;  but 
some  ol  the  most  amusing  were  in  connection  with  the  wax  figures. 

Upon  the  same  impulse  which  prompts  men  in  time  of  fire  to  fling  valuable  looking- 
glasses  out  of  three-story  windows,  and  at  the  same  time  tenderly  to  lower  down  feaiher 
beds — soon  after  the  Museum  took  fire,  a  number  of  sturdy  firemen  rushed  into  the  build- 
ing to  carry  out  the  wax  figures.  There  were  thousand  of  valuable  articles  which  mi;:ht 
have  been  saved,  if  there  had  been  less  of  solicitude  displayed  for  the  miserable  effigies 
which  are  usually  exhibited  under  the  appellation  of  "  wax  figures."  As  it  was,  a  dozen 
firemen  rushed  into  the  apartment  where  the  figures  were  kept,  amid  a  multitude  of  crawl- 
ing snakes,  chattering  monkeys  and  escaped  paroquets.  The  "  Dj  ing  Brigand "  was 
unceremoniously  throttled  and  dragged  toward  the  door;  liberties  were  taken  with  the 
tearful  "  Senorita,"  who  has  so  long  knelt  and  so  constantly  wagged  her  doll's  head  at  his 
side  :  the  mules  of  the  other  bandits  were  upset,  and  they  themselves  roughly  seized.  The 
full  length  statue  of  P.  T.  Barnum  fell  down  of  its  own  accord,  as  if  disgusted  with  the 
whole  affair.  A  red-shirted  fireman  seized  with  either  hand  Franklin  Pierce  and  James 
Buchanan  by  their  coat-collars,  tucked  the  Prince  Imperial  of  France,  under  one  arm,  and 
the  Veiled  Murderess  under  the  other,  and  coolly  departed  for  the  street.  Two  ragged 
boys  quarreled  over  the  Tom  Thumb,  but  at  length  settled  the  controversy  by  one  of  them 
tiiking  the  head,  the  other  satisfying  himself  with  the  legs  below  the  knees.  They  evi- 
dently had  Tom  under  their  thumbs,  and  intended  to  keep  him  down.  While  a  curiosity- 
peeking  policeman  was  garroting  Benjamin  Franklin,  with  the  idea  of  abducting  him,  a 
small  monkey,  flung  from  the  window-sill  by  the  strong  hand  of  an  impatient  fireman,  made 
a  straight  dive,  hitting  Poor  Richard  just  below  the  waist-coat,  and  passing  through  his 
stomach,  as  fairly  as  the  Harlequin  in  the  "  Green  Monster"  pantomime  ever  pierced  the 
picture  with  the  slit  in  it,  which  always  hangs  so  conveniently  low  and  near  Patrick  Henry 
had  his  teeth  knocked  out  by  a  tlying  missile,  and  in  carrying  Diinibl  Lambert  down  stairs, 
he  was  found  to  be  so  large  that  they  had  to  break  off  his  head  in  order  to  get  him  through 
the  door.  At  length  the  heat  became  intense,  the  "  figgers  "  began  to  perspire  freely,  and 
the  swiftly  approaching  flames  compelled  all  hands  to  desist  from  any  I'urthiT  attempt  at 
rescue.  Throwing  a  parting  glance  behind  as  we  passed  dowu  the  stairs,  we  saw  the 
remaining  dignitaries  in  a  strange  plight.  Some  one  had  stuck  a  cigar  in  General  Wash- 
ington's mouth,  and  thus,  with  his  chapean  crushed  down  over  his  eyes  and  his  head 
reclining  upon  the  ample  lap  of  Moll  Pilcher.  the  Father  of  his  Country  led  lUe  vuii  of  us 


244  THE  AMERICAN  MUSEUM  IN   RUINS. 

•orry  a  band  of  patriots  as  not  often  comes  within  one's  experience  to  see.  General  Mai  ion 
was  playing  a  dummy  game  of  poker  with  General  Lafayette :  Governor  Morris  was  hav- 
ing a  set-to  with  Nathan  Lane,  and  James  Madison  was  executing  a  Dutch  polka  with 
Madam  Roland  on  one  arm  and  Lucretia  Borgia  on  the  other.  The  next  moment  the 
advancing  flames  compelled  us  to  retire. 

We  believe  that  all  the  living  curiosities  were  saved  ;  but  the  giant  girl,  Anna  Swan,  was 
only  rescued  with  the  utmost  difficulty.  There  was  not  a  door  through  which  her  bulky 
frame  could  obtain  a  passage.  It  was  likewise  feared  that  the  stairs  would  break  down,  even 
if  she  should  reach  them.  Her  best  friend,  the  living  skeleton,  stood  by  her  as  long  as  he 
dared,  but  then  deserted  her,  while,  as  the  heat  grew  in  intensity,  the  perspiration  rolled 
from  her  face  in  little  brooks  and  rivulets,  which  pattered  musically  upon  the  floor.  At 
length,  as  a  last  resort,  the  employees  of  the  place  procured  a  lofty  derrick  which  fortu- 
nately happened  to  be  standing  near,  and  erected  it  alongside  the  Museum.  A  portion  61 
the  wall  was  then  broken  ofl  on  each  side  of  the  window,  the  strong  tackle  was  got  in 
readiness,  the  tall  woman  was  made  fast  to  one  end  and  swung  over  the  heads  of  the 
people  in  the  street,  with  eighteen  men  grasping  the  other  extremity  of  the  line,  and  low- 
ered down  from  the  third  story,  amid  enthusiastic  applause.  A  carriage  of  extraordinary 
capacity  was  in  readiness,  and,  entering  this,  the  young  lady  was  driven  away  to  a  hotel. 

When  the  surviving  serpents,  that  were  released  by  the  partial  burning  of  the  box  in 
which  they  were  contained,  crept  along  on  the  floor  to  the  balcony  of  the  Museum  and 
dropped  on  the  sidewalk,  the  crowd,  seized  with  St.  Patrick's  aversion  to  the  reptiles,  fled 
with  such  precipitate  haste  that  they  knocked  each  other  down  and  trampled  on  one 
another  in  the  most  reckless  and  damaging  manner. 

Hats  were  lost,  coats  torn,  boots  burst  and  pantaloons  dropped  with  magnificent  miscel- 
laneousness,  and  dozens  of  those  who  rose  from  the  miry  streets  into  which  they  had  been 
thrown,  looked  like  the  disembodied  spirits  of  a  mud  bank.  The  snakes  crawled  on  the 
sidewalk  and  into  Broadway,  where  some  of  them  died  from  injuries  received,  and  others 
were  despatched  by  the  excited  populace.  Several  of  the  serpents  of  the  copper-head 
species,  escaped  the  fury  of  the  tumultuous  masses,  and,  true  to  their  instincts,  sought  shel- 
ter in  the  World  and  News  offices.  A  large  black  bear  escaped  from  the  burning  Museum 
into  Ann  street,  and  then  made  his  way  into  Nassau,  and  down  that  thoroughfare  into 
Wall,  where  his  appearance  caused  a  sensation.  Some  superstitious  persons  believed 
him  the  spirit  of  a  departed  Ursa  Major,  and  others  of  his  fraternity  welcomed  the  animal 
as  a  favorable  omen.  The  bear  walked  quietly  along  to  the  Custom  House,  ascended  the 
steps  of  the  building,  and  became  bewildered,  as  many  a  biped  bear  has  done  before  him. 
He  seemed  to  lose  his  sense  of  vision,  and  no  doubt,  endeavoring  to  operate  for  a  fall, 
walked  over  the  side  of  the  steps  and  broke  his  neck.  He  succeeded  in  his  object,  but  it 
cost  him  dearly.  The  appearance  of  Bruin  in  the  street  sensibly  affected  the  stock  market, 
and  shares  fell  rapidly;  but  when  he  lost  his  life  in  the  careless  manner  we  have  described, 
shares  advanced  again,  and  the  Bulls  triumphed  once  more. 

Broadway  and  its  crossings  have  not  witnessed  a  denser  throng  for  months  thar  assem- 
bled at  the  fire  yesterday.  Barnum's  was  always  popular,  but  it  never  drew  so  vast  a 
crowd  before.  There  must  have  been  forty  thousand  people  on  Broadway,  between  Maiden 
Lane  and  Chambers  street,  and  a  great  portion  stayed  there  until  dusk.  So  great  vas  the 
concourse  of  people  that  it  was  with  difficulty  pedestrians  or  vehicles  could  pass, 

After  the  fire  several  high-art  epicures  grouping  among  the  ruins,  found  choice  morsels  of 
boiled  whale,  roasted  kangaroo  and  fricassed  crocodile,  which,  it  is  said,  they  relished ; 
though  the  many  would  have  failed  to  appreciate  such  rare  edibles  Probably  the  recherche 
epicures  will  declare  the  only  true  way  to  prepare  those  meats  is  to  cook  them  in  a  museum 
wrapped  in  flames,  in  the  same  manner  that  the  Chinese,  according  to  Charles  Lamb,  first 
discovered  roast  pig  in  a  burning  house,  and  ever  afterward  set  a  house  on  fire  with  a  pig 
inside,  when  they  wanted  that  particular  food. 

All  the  New  York  journals,  and  many  more  in  other  cities,  editorially  expressed 
their  sympathy  with  my  misfortune,  and  their  sense  of  the  loss  the  community 
had  sustained  in  the  destruction  of  the  American  Museum.  The  following  editorial 
is  from  the  New  York  Tribune,  of  July  14,  1865: 


and  though  many  of  them  muy  not  have  had  much  intrinsic  or  memorial  value,  a  consider- 
able portion  was  certainly  of  great  worth  for  any  Museum.  But  aside  from  this,  pleasant 
memories  clustered  about  the  place,  which  for  so  many  years  has  been  the  chief  resort  for 
amtsement  to  the  common  people  who  cannot  often  afl'ord  to  treat  themselves  to  a  night 
at  the  more  expensive  theaters,  while  to  the  children  of  the  city,  Barnnm's  has  been  a  foun- 
tain of  delight,  ever  ofl'erlng  new  attractions  as  captivating  and  as  implicitly  believed  in 
as  the  Arabian  Nights,  Entertainments :  Theater,  Menagerie  and  Museum,  it  amused, 
instructed,  and  astonished.  If  its  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of  annual  visitors  were 
bewildered  sometimes  with  a  Woolly  Horse,  a  What  is  It?  or  a  Mermaid,  they  found  repose 
and  certainty  in  a  Giraffe,  a  Whale  or  a  Rhinoceros.  If  wax  effigies  of  pirates  and  mur- 
derers made  them  shudder  lest  those  dreadful  figures  should  start  out  of  their  glass  cases 
and  repeat  their  horrid  deeds,  they  were  reassured  by  the  presence  of  the  mildest  and  most 
amiable  of  giants,  and  the  fattest  of  mortal  women,  whose  dead  weight  alone  could  crush 


THE   AMERICAN   MUSEUM   IN   RUINS.  245 

all  the  wax  figures  Into  their  original  cakes.  It  was  a  source  of  unfailing  Interest  to  all 
country  visitors,  and  New  York  to  many  of  them  was  only  the  place  that  held  Barnnm's 
Museum.  It  was  the  first  thing — often  the  only  thing— they  visited  when  they  came  among 
us,  and  nothing  that  could  have  been  contrived,  out  of  our  present  resources,  could  have 
offered  so  many  attractions  unless  some  more  ingenious  showman  had  undertaken  to  add  to 
Barnum's  collection  of  waxen  criminals  by  putting  in  a  cage  the  live  Boards  of  the  Com- 
mon Council.  We  mourn  its  loss,  but  not  as  without  consolation.  Barnum's  Museum  is 
gone,  but  Barnum  himself,  happily,  did  not  share  the  fate  of  his  rattlesnakes  and  his,  at 
Feast,  most  "un-happy  Family."  There  are  fishes  in  the  seas  and  beasts  in  the  forest; 
birds  still  fly  in  the  air,  and  strange  creatures  still  roam  in  the  deserts  ;  giants  and  pigmies 
still  wander  up  and  down  the  earth ;  the  oldest  man,  the  fattest  woman,  and  the  smallest 
baby  are  still  living,  and  Barnum  will  find  them. 

Or  even  if  none  of  these  things  or  creatures  existed,  we  could  trust  to  Barnum  to  make 
them  out  of  hand.  The  Museum,  then,  is  only  a  temporary  loss,  and  much  as  we  sympa- 
thize with  the  proprietor,  the  public  may  trust  to  his  well-known  ability  and  energy  to  soon 
renew  a  place  of  amusement  which  was  a  source  of  so  much  innocent  pleasure,  and  had  in 
it  so  many  elements  of  solid  excellence. 

As  already  stated,  my  insurance  was  but  $40,000,  while  the  collection,  at  the 
lowest  estimate,  was  worth  $400,000,  and  as  my  premium  was  five  percent.,  I  had 
paid  the  insurance  companies  more  than  they  returned  to  me.  When  the  fire 
occurred,  my  summer  pantomime  season  had  just  begun  and  the  Museum  was 
doing  an  immensely  profitable  business.  My  first  impulse,  after  reckoning  up  my 
losses,  was  to  retire  from  active  lif e  and  from  all  business  occupation  beyond  what 
my  large  real  estate  interests  in  Bridgeport,  and  my  property  in  New  York  would 
compel.  I  felt  that  I  had  still  a  competence,  and  that  after  a  most  active  and 
busy  life,  at  fifty-five  years,  I  was  entitled  to  retirement,  to  comparative  rest  for 
the  remainder  of  my  days.  I  called  on  my  old  friend,  the  editor  of  the  Tribune, 
for  advice  on  the  subject. 

"Accept  this  fire  as  a  notice  to  quit,  and  go  a-fishing,"  said  Mr.  Greeley. 

"  A-fishing! "  I  exclaimed. 

"Yes,  a-fishing;  I  have  been  wanting  to  go  a-fishing  for  thirty  years,  and  have 
not  yeb  found  time  to  do  so,"  replied  Mr.  Greeley. 

I  really  felt  that  his  advice  was  good  and  wise,  and  had  I  consulted  only  my 
own  ease  and  interest  I  should  have  acted  upon  it.  But  two  considerations 
moved  me  to  pause:  First,  one  hundred  and  fifty  employees,  many  of  whom 
depended  upon  their  exertions  for  their  daily  bread,  were  thrown  out  of  work  at 
a  season  when  it  would  be  difficult  for  them  to  get  engagements  elsewhere. 
Second,  I  felt  that  a  large  city  like  New  York  needed  a  good  Museum,  and  that 
my  experience  of  a  quarter  of  a  century  in  that  direction  afforded  extraordinary 
facilities  for  founding  another  establishment  of  the  kind,  and  so  I  took  a  few  days 
for  reflection. 

Meanwhile,  the  Museum  employees  were  tendered  a  benefit  at  the  Academy  of 
Music,  at  which  most  of  the  dramatic  artists  in  the  city  volunteered  their  services. 
I  was  called  out,  and  made  some  off-hand  remarks,  in  which  I  stated  that  nothing 
which  I  could  utter  in  behalf  of  the  recipients  of  that  benefit,  could  plead  for 
them  half  so  eloquently  as  the  smoking  ruins  of  the  building  where  they  had  so 
long  earned  their  support  by  their  efforts  to  gratify  the  public.  At  the  same  time 
I  announced  that,  moved  by  the  considerations  I  have  mentioned,  I  had  concluded 
to  establish  another  Museum,  and  that,  in  order  to  give  present  occupation  to  my 
employees,  I  had  engaged  the  Winter  Garden  Theater  for  a  few  weeks,  and  I 
hoped  to  open  a  new  establishment  of  my  own  in  the  ensuing  fall. 

The  New  York  Sun  commented  upon  the  few  remarks  which  I  was  suddenly 
and  quite  unexpectedly  called  upon  to  make-,  in  the  following  flattering  manner: 

One  of  the  happiest  impromptu  oratorial  efforts  that  we  have  heard  for  some  time,  was 
that  made  by  Bitrnum  at  the  benefit  performance  given  lor  his  employee*  on  Friday  after- 
noon. If  a  stranger  wanted  to  satisfy  himself  how  the  great  showman  had  managed  so  to 


246  THE   AMERICAN    MUSEUM    IN   RUINS. 


J^JUl  LU111LJ    Ul    UUlllg  BL»    tlltlll    UJ/    UrMUlIilJ^    LA.'   btUfl    AUUIVD^I.       •»  WI J       VY  VI  u,     luuugll    UCTlltCTICU 

WIMI  apparent  carelessness,  struck  a  key-note  in  the  hearts  of  his  listeners.  Simple,  lim-i'jle 
and  touching,  it  showed  how  thoroughly  this  extraordinary  man  comprehends  the  character 
of  his  countrymen,  and  how  easily  he  can  play  upon  their  feelings. 

Those  who  look  upon  Barnum  as  a  mere  charlatan,  have  really  no  knowledge  of  him.  It 
would  be  easy  to  demonstrate  that  the  qualities  that  have  placed  him  in  his  present  position 
of  notoriety  and  affluence  would,  in  another  pursuit,  have  raised  him  to  far  greater  emi- 
nence. In  his  breadth  of  views,  his  profound  knowledge  of  mankind,  his  courage  under 

tact 

thai . 

American  mind. 

I  very  soon  secured  by  lease  the  premises,  numbers  535,  537  and  539  Broadway, 
seventy-five  feet  front  and  rear,  by  two  hundred  feet  deep,  and  known  as  the 
Chinese  Museum  buildings.  In  less  than  four  months,  I  succeeded  in  converting 
this  building  into  a  commodious  Museum  and  lecture-room,  and  meanwhile  I 
sent  agents  through  America  and  Europe  to  purchase  curiosities.  Besides  hun- 
dreds of  small  collections,  I  bought  up  several  entire  museums,  and  with  many 
living  curiosities  and  my  old  company  of  actors  and  actresses,  I  opened  to  the 
public,  November  13,  1865,  "Barnum's  New  American  Museum,"  thus  beginning 
a  new  chapter  in  my  career  as  a  manager  and  showman. 


CHAPTER    XL. 


DURING  my  membership  in  the  Connecticut  Legislature  of  1865, 1  made  several 
new  friends  and  agreeable  acquaintances,  and  many  things  occurred,  sometimes 
in  the  regular  proceedings,  and  sometimes  as  episodes,  which  made  the  session 
memorable.  On  one  occasion,  a  representative,  who  was  a  lawyer,  introduced 
resolutions  to  reduce  the  number  of  Representatives,  urging  that  the  "  House" 
was  too  large  and  ponderous  a  body  to  work  smoothly ;  that  a  smaller  number 
of  persons  could  accomplish  business  more  rapidly  and  completely  ;  and,  in  fact, 
that  the  Connecticut  Legislature  was  so  large  that  the  members  did  not  have  time 
to  get  acquainted  with  each  other  before  the  body  adjourned  sine  die. 

I  replied,  that  the  larger  the  number  of  representatives,  the  more  difficult  it 
would  be  to  tamper  with  them ;  and  if  they  all  could  not  become  personally 
acquainted,  so  much  the  better,  for  there  would  be  fewer  "rings, "and  less  facili- 
ties for  forcing  improper  legislation. 

"  As  the  house  seems  to  be  thin  now,  I  will  move  to  lay  my  resolutions  on  the 
table,"  remarked  the  member;  "but  I  shall  call  them  up  when  there  is  a  full 
house." 

"  According  to  the  gentleman's  own  theory,"  I  replied,  "the  smaller  the  num- 
ber, the  surer  are  we  to  arrive  at  correct  conclusions.  Now,  therefore,  is  just  the 
time  to  decide;  and  I  move  that  the  gentleman's  resolutions  be  considered."  This 
proposition  was  seconded  amid  a  roar  of  laughter;  and  the  resolutions  were 
almost  unanimously  voted  down,  before  the  member  fairly  comprehended  what 
was  going  on.  He  afterwards  acknowledged  it  as  a  pretty  fair  joke,  and  at  any 
rate  as  an  effective  one. 

The  State  House  at  Hartford  was  a  disgrace  to  Connecticut;  the  Hall  of  Repre- 
sentatives was  too  small;  there  were  no  committee  rooms,  and  the  building  was 
utterly  unfit  for  the  purposes  to  which  it  was  devoted.  The  State  House  at  New 
Haven  was  very  little  better,  and  I  made  a  strong  effort  to  secure  the  erection  of 
new  edifices  in  both  cities.  I  was  chairman  of  the  committee  on  new  State 
Houses,  and  during  our  investigations  it  was  ascertained  that  Bridgeport,  Middle- 
town  and  Meriden  would  each  be  willing  to  erect  a  State  House  at  its  own  cost, 
if  the  city  should  be  selected  as  the  new  capital  of  the  State.  These  movements 
aroused  the  jealousy  of  Hartford  and  New  Haven,  which  at  once  appointed  com- 
mittees to  wait  upon  us.  The  whole  matter,  however,  finally  went  by  default, 
and  the  question  was  never  submitted  to  the  people.  Since  that  period,  however, 
Hartford  has  been  made  the  only  capital  city. 

As  the  session  drew  near  its  close,  the  railroad  controversy  culminated  by  my 
introduction  of  a  bill  to  amend  the  act  for  the  regulation  of  railroads,  by  the 
Interpolation  of  the  following: 

SECTION  508.  No  railroad  company,  which  has  had  a  system  of  commutation  fares  in  force 
for  more  than  four  years,  shall  abolish,  alter,  or  modify  the  same,  except  for  the  regulation 
of  the  price  charged  for  such  commutation  ;  and  such  price  shall,  in  no  case,  be  raised  to  an 
extent  that  shall  alter  the  ratio  between  such  commutation  and  the  rates  then  charged  fot 
way  fare,  on  the  railroad  of  such  company. 

247 


248  MY    WAR   ON   THE    RAILROADS. 

The  New  York  and  New  Haven  Railroad  Company  seemed  determined  to  move 
heaven  and  earth  to  prevent  the  passage  of  this  law.  The  halls  of  legislation  were 
thronged  with  railroad  lobbyists,  who  button-holed  nearly  every  member.  My 
motives  were  attacked,  and  the  most  foolish  slanders  were  circulated.  Not  only 
every  legal  man  in  the  house  was  arrayed  against  me,  but  occasionally  a  "country 
member  "  who  had  promised  to  stick  by  and  aid  in  checking  the  cupidity  of  rail- 
road managers,  would  drop  off,  and  be  found  voting  on  the  other  side.  I  devoted 
many  hours,  and  even  days,  to  explaining  the  true  state  of  things  to  the  members 
from  the  rural  regions,  and,  although  the  prospect  of  carrying  this  great  reform 
looked  rather  dark,  I  felt  that  I  had  a  majority  of  the  honest  and  disinterested 
members  of  the  house  with  me.  Finally,  Senator  Ballard  informed  me  that  he 
had  canvassed  the  Senate,  and  was  convinced  that  the  bill  could  be  carried  through 
that  body  if  I  could  be  equally  successful  with  the  house.  At  last  it  was  known 
that  the  final  debate  would  take  place  and  the  vote  be  taken  on  the  morning  of 
July  13. 

When  the  day  arrived  the  excitement  was  intense.  The  passages  leading  to  the 
hall  were  crowded  with  railroad  lobbyists;  for  nearly  every  railroad  in  the  State 
had  made  common  cause  with  the  New  York  and  New  Haven  Company,  and 
every  representative  was  in  hisjseat,  excepting  the  sick  man,  who  had  doctored 
the  railroads  till  he  needed  doctoring  himself.  The  debate  was  led  off  by  skir- 
mishers on  each  side,  and  was  finally  closed  on  the  part  of  the  railroads  by  Mr. 
Harrison,  of  New  Haven,  who  was  chairman  of  the  railroad  committee.  Mr. 
Henry  B.  Harrison  was  a  close  and  forcible  debater  and  a  clear-headed  lawyer. 
His  speech  exhibited  considerable  thought,  and  his  earnestness  and  high  character 
as  a  gentleman  of  honor,  carried  much  weight.  Besides,  his  position  as  chairman 
of  the  committee  naturally  influenced  some  votes.  He  claimed  to  understand 
thoroughly  the  merits  of  the  question,  from  having,  in  his  capacity  as  chairman, 
heard  all  the  testimony  and  arguments  which  had  come  before  that  committee; 
and  a  majority  of  the  committee,  after  due  deliberation,  had  reported  against  the 
proposed  MIL 

On  closing  the  debate,  I  endeavored  to  state  briefly  the  gist  of  the  case — that, 
only  a  few  years  before,  the  New  York  and  New  Haven  Company  had  fixed  their 
own  price  for  commuters'  tickets  along  the  whole  line  of  the  road,  and  had  thus 
induced  hundreds  of  New  York  citizens  to  remove  to  Connecticut  with  their 
families,  and  build  their  houses  on  heretofore  unimproved  property,  thus  vastly 
increasing  the  value  of  the  lands,  and  correspondingly  helping  our  receipts  for 
taxes.  I  urged  that  there  was  a  tacit  understanding  between  the  railroad  and 
these  commuters  and  the  public  generally,  that  such  persons  as  chose  thus  to 
remove  from  a  neighboring  State,  and  bring  their  families  and  capital  within  our 
borders,  should  have  the  right  to  pass  over  the  railroad  on  the  terms  fixed  at  the 
time,  by  the  president  and  directors;  that  any  claim  that  the  railroad  could  not 
afford  to  commute  at  the  prices  they  had  themselves  established  was  absurd,  from 
the  fact  that,  even  now,  if  one  thousand  families  who  reside  in  New  York,  and 
had  never  been  in  our  ovfn.  State,  should  propose  to  the  railroad  to  remove  these 
families  (embracing  in  the  aggregate  five  thousand  persons)  to  Connecticut,  and 
build  one  thousand  new  houses  on  the  line  of  the  New  York  and  New  Haven 
Railroad,  provided  the  railroad  would  carry  the  male  head  of  the  family  at  all 
times  for  nothing,  the  company  could  well  afford  to  accept  the  proposition, 
because  they  would  receive  full  prices  for  transporting  all  other  members  of  these 
families,  at  all  tunes,  as  well  as  full  prices  for  all  their  visitors  and  servants. 


MY  WAR  ON  THE  RAILROADS.  249 

And  now,  what  are  the  facts?  Do  we  desire  the  railroad  to  carry  even  one  fifth  ol  these 
new  comers  for  nothing?  Do  we,  indeed,  desire  to  compel  them  to  transport  them  for  any 
definitely  fixed  price  at  all?  On  the  contrary,  we  find  that  during  the  late  rebellion,  when  gold 
was  selling  for  two  dollars  and  eighty  cents  per  dollar,  this  company  doubled  its  prices  of 
commutation,  and  retains  the  same  prices  now,  although  gold  is  but  one-half  that  amount 
($1.40).  We  don't  ask  them  to  go  back  to  their  former  prices  ;  we  don't  compel  them  to 
rest  even  here;  we  simply  say,  increase  your  rates,  pile  up  your  demands  just  as  high  as 
you  desire,  only  you  shall  not  muke  fish  of  one  and  fowl  of  another.  You  have  fixed  and 
increased  your  prices  to  passengers  of  all  classes  just  as  you  liked,  and  established  your 
own  ratio  between  those  who  pay  by  tlie  year,  and  those  who  pay  by  the  single  trip;  and 
now,  all  we  ask  is,  that  you  shall  not  change  the  ratio.  Charge  ten  dollars  per  passenger 
from  New  York  to  New  Haven,  if  you  have  the  courage  to  risk  the  competition  of  the 
steamboats  ;  and  whatever  percentage  you  choose  to  increase  the  fare  of  transient  passen- 
gers, we  permit  you  to  increase  the  rates  ot  commuters  in  the  same  ratio. 

The  interests  of  the  State,  as  well  as  communities,  demand  this  law;  (or  if  it  is  once 
fixed  by  statute  that  the  prices  of  commutation  are  not  to  be  increased,  many  persons  will 
leave  the  localities  where  extortion  is  permitted  on  the  railroads,  and  will  settle  in  our 
Htate.  But  these  railroad  gentlemen  say  they  have  no  intention  to  increase  their  rates  of 
commutation,  and  they  deprecate  what  they  term  ''premature  legislation,"  and  an  uncalled 
for  meddling  with  their  affairs.  Mr.  Speaker,  "an  ounce  of  prevention  is  worth  a  pound 
of  cure."  Men  engaged  in  plots  against  public  interests  always  ask  to  be  "  let  alone." 
Jeff  Davis  only  asked  to  be  "let  alone,"  when  the  North  was  raising  great  armies  to  pre- 
vent the  dissolution  of  the  Union.  The  people  cannot  afford  to  let  these  railroads  alone. 
This  hall,  crowded  with  railroad  lobbyists,  as  the  frogs  thronged  Egypt,  is  an  admonition 
to  all  honest  legislators,  that  it  is  unsafe  to  allow  the  monopolies  the  chance  to  rivet  the 
chains  which  already  fetter  the  limbs  of  those  whom  circumstances  place  in  the  power  of 
these  companies. 

It  was  at  this  point  in  my  remarks  that  I  received  the  telegram  from  my  son- 
in-law  in  New  York,  announcing  the  burning  of  the  American  Museum.  Reading 
the  dispatch,  and  laying  it  on  my  desk  without  further  attention,  I  continued: 

These  railroad  gentlemen  absolutely  deny  any  intention  of  raising  the  fares  of  commuters, 
and  profess  to  think  it  very  hard  that  disinterested  and  conscientious  gentlemen  like  them 


I  then  drew  from  my  pocket  and  read  two  telegrams  received  that  morning,  one 
f rom  New  York  and  the  other  from  Bridgeport,  announcing  that  the  New  York 
and  New  Haven  Railroad  Directory  had  held  a  secret  meeting  in  New  York,  the 
day  before,  for  the  purpose  of  immediately  raising  the  fares  of  commuters  twenty 
per  cent.,  so  that  in  case  my  bill  became  a  law  they  could  get  ahead  of  me.  I 
continued: 

Now,  Mr.  Speaker,  I  know  that  these  despatches  are  true  ;  my  information  is  from  the 
inside  of  the  camp.  1  see  a  director  of  the  New  York  and  New  Haven  railroad  sitting  in 
this  hall;  I  know  that  he  knows  these  despatches  are  true;  and  if  he  will  go  before  the 
railroad  committee  and  make  oath  that  he  don't  know  that  such  a  meeting  took  place  yes- 
terday, for  exactly  this  purpose,  I  will  forfeit  and  pay  one  thousand  dollars  to  the  families 
of  poor  soldiers  in  this  city.  In  consideration  of  this  attempt  to  forestall  the  action  of 
this  legislature,  I  offer  an  amendment  to  the  bill  now  under  consideration  by  adding  after 
the  word  "  ratio,"  the  words  li  as  it  existed  on  the  first  day  of  July,  1865."  In  this  way  we 
shall  cut  off  any  action  which  these  sleek  gentlemen  may  have  taken  yesterday.  It  is 
now  evident  that  these  railroad  gentlemen  have  set  a  trap  for  this  legislature;  and  I  pro- 
pose that  we  now  spring  the  trap,  and  see  if  we  cannot  catch  these  wily  railroad  directors 
in  it.  Mr.  Speaker,  1  move  the  previous  question. 

The  opposition  were  astounded  at  the  revelation  and  the  previous  question  was 
ordered.  The  bill  as  amended  was  carried  almost  with  a  "hurrah."  It  is  now  an 
act  in  the  statute  book  of  the  State,  and  it  annually  adds  many  dollars  to  the 
assessment  roll  of  Connecticut,  since  the  protection  afforded  to  commuters  against 


250  MY   WAR  OK  THE   RAILROADS. 

the  extortions  practised  by  railway  companies  elsewhere  is  a  strong  inducement 
to  permanent  settlers  along  the  lines  of  Connecticut  railways.* 

In  the  spring  of  1866,  I  was  again  elected  to  represent  the  town  of  Fairfield  in 
the  Connecticut  Legislature.  I  had  not  intended  to  accept  a  nomination  for  that 
office  a  second  time,  but  one  of  the  directors  of  the  New  York  and  New  Haven 
Railroad,  who  was  a  citizen  of  Fairfleld  and  had  been  a  zealous  lobby  member  of 
the  preceding  legislature,  had  declared  that  I  should  not  represent  the  town  again. 
As  the  voters  of  Fairfield  seemed  to  think  that  the  public  interests  were  of  more 
importance  than  the  success  of  railroad  conspiracies,  combinations,  and  monopo- 
lies, I  accepted  their  nomination. 

Almost  the  only  exciting  question  before  that  legislature  was  the  election  of  an 
United  States  Senator.  President  Johnson  had  begun  to  show  disaffection 
towards  the  Republican  party  which  elected  him,  and  the  zealous  members  of 
that  party  were  watching  with  anxious  hearts  the  actions  of  those  who  offered 
themselves  as  candidates  for  offices  of  trust  and  responsibility.  One  of  the 
Republican  United  States  Senators  had  already  abandoned  the  party  and  affiliated 
with  Johnson.  The  other  Senator  was  a  candidate  for  re-election.  He  had  been 
a  favorite  candidate  with  me,  but  when  I  became  convinced  that  he  sympathized 
with  the  recreant  Senator  and  President  Johnson,  no  importunities  of  political 
friends  or  any  other  inducement  could  change  my  determination  to  defeat  him, 
if  possible.  I  devoted  days  and  nights  to  convincing  some  of  my  fellow-members 
that  the  interests  of  the  State  and  the  country  demanded  the  election  of  Hon.  O. 
S.  Ferry  to  that  important  office. 

Excitement  ran  high.  Ex-Governor  Wm.  A.  Buckingham  was  also  a  candi- 
date. I  knew  he  would  make  an  excellent  Senator,  but  he  had  filled  the 
gubernatorial  chair  for  eight  years;  and  as  the  present  Senator  had  held  his  office 
twelve  years,  and  he  was  from  the  same  city  as  Governor  Buckingham,  I  urged 
that  Norwich  should  not  carry  off  all  the  honors;  that  Fairfield  county  was 
entitled  to  the  office;  and  both  before  and  at  the  Republican  nominating  caucus 
I  set  forth,  so  far  as  I  was  able,  what  I  considered  the  merits  and  peculiar  claims 
of  Mr.  Ferry.  I  suggested  that  Mr.  Buckingham  might  rest  on  his  laurels  for  a 
couple  of  years  and  be  elected  to  fill  the  place  of  the  next  retiring  Senator  in  1868. 
Mr.  Ferry  started  in  the  ballotings  with  a  very  small  vote  indeed,  and  it  required 
the  most  delicate  management  to  secure  a  majority  for  him  in  that  caucus.  But 
it  was  done;  and  as  the  great  strife  was  between  the  two  other  rival  candidates 
Mr.  Ferry  had  scarcely  a  hope  of  the  nomination  and  was  much  surprised  the 
next  morning  to  hear  of  his  success.  He  was  elected  for  the  term  beginning 
March  4,  1866,  and  one  of  his  opposing  candidates  in  the  caucus,  Ex-Governor 
William  A.  Buckingham,  was  elected,  two  years  afterwards,  for  the  senatorial 
term  commencing  March  4,  1869. 

I  was  again  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Agriculture,  and  on  the  whole  the 
session  at  New  Haven,  in  1866,  was  very  agreeable  to  me  ;  there  were  many  con- 
genial spirits  in  the  House  and  our  severer  labors  were  lightened  by  some  very 
delightful  episodes. 

During  the  summer,  Governor  Hawley,  Hon.  David  Gallup,  Speaker  of  the 
House,  Hon.  O.  S.  Ferry,  United  States  Senator,  Mr.  W.  G.  Coe,  of  Winsted, 

*  The  New  York  and  New  Haven  railroad  company  never  forgave  me  for  thus  securing  a 
righteous  law  for  the  protection  of  its  commuters.  Even  as  lately  as  1871,  the  venders  of 
books  on  the  tr-.iins  \\ere  prohibited  from  selling  to  ousseugers  my  autobiography  which 
exposed  their  cupidity.  A  parallel  railroad  from  New  Vork  to  New  Haven,  would  De  good 
paying  stock,  and  would  materially  disturb,  if  not  destroy,  the  present  railroad  and  express 
monopolies. 


MY    WAR   ON   THE   RAILROADS.  251 

Mr.  A.  B.  Mygatt,  of  New  Milford,  Mr.  George  Pratt,  of  Norwich,  Mr.  S.  H. 
Wales,  of  the  Scientific  American,  Mr.  David  Clark,  of  Hartford,  Mr.  A.  H. 
Byington,  of  Norwalk,  and  many  other  gentlemen  of  distinction,  were  occasional 
guests  at  Lindencroft.  Several  times  we  had  delightful  sails,  dinners,  and  clam- 
bakes at  Charles  Island,  eight  miles  east  of  Bridgeport,  a  most  cool  and  charming 
spot  in  the  warm  summer  days.  The  health  of  my  wife,  which  had  been  poor 
since  1855,  prevented  many  occasions  of  festivity  for  which  I  had  all  other  facili- 
ties; for  Lindencroft  was  indeed  a  charming  residence,  and  it  afforded  every 
requisite  for  the  entertainment  of  large  numbers  of  friends. 

During  the  summer,  Governor  Hawley  appointed  me  a  commissioner  to  the 
Paris  Exposition,  but  I  was  unable  to  attend.  • 

In  the  spring  of  1867, 1  received  from  the  Republican  convention  in  the  Fourth 
District  in  Connecticut,  the  nomination  for  Congress.  As  I  have  already  re- 
marked, politics  were  always  distasteful  to  me.  I  possessed,  naturally,  too  much 
independence  of  mind,  and  too  strong  a  determination  to  do  what  I  believe  to  be 
right,  regardless  of  party  expediency,  to  make  a  lithe  and  oily  politician.  To  be 
called  on  to  favor  applications  from  office-seekers,  without  regard  to  their  merits, 
and  to  do  the  dirty  work  too  often  demanded  by  political  parties;  to  be  "all 
things  to  all  men  "  though  not  in  the  apostolic  sense ;  to  shake  hands  with  those 
whom  I  despised,  and  to  kiss  the  dirty  babies  of  those  whose  votes  were  courted, 
were  political  requirements  which  I  felt  I  could  never  acceptably  fulfill.  Never- 
theless, I  had  become,  so  far  as  business  was  concerned,  almost  a  man  of  leisure; 
and  some  of  my  warmest,  personal  friends,  insisted  that  a  nomination  to  so  high 
and  honorable  a  position  as  a  member  of  Congress,  was  not  to  be  lightly  rejected, 
and  so  I  consented  to  run.  Fairfield  and  Litchfield  counties  composed  the  district, 
which,  in  the  preceding  Congressional  election,  in  1865,  and  just  after  the  close 
of  the  war,  was  republican.  In  the  year  following,  however,  the  district  in  State 
election  went  democratic.  I  had  this  democratic  majority  to  contend  against  in 
1867,  and  as  the  whole  State  turned  over  and  elected  the  democratic  ticket,  I  lost 
my  election.  In  the  next  succeeding  Congressional  election,  iu  1869,  the  Fourth 
District  also  elected  the  only  democratic  congressman  chosen  from  Connecticut 
that  year. 

I  was  neither  disappointed  nor  cast  down  by  my  defeat.  The  political  canvass 
served  the  purpose  of  giving  me  a  new  sensation,  and  introducing  me  to  new 
phases  of  human  nature — a  subject  which  I  had  always  great  delight  in  studying 
The  filth  and  scandal,  the  slanders  and  vindictiveness,  the  plottings  and  fawn 
ings,  the  fidelity,  meanness  and  manliness,  which  by  turns  exhibited  themselver 
in  the  exciting  scenes  preceding  the  election,  were  novel  to  me,  and  were  so  fai 
interesting. 

Shortly  after  my  opponent  was  nominated,  1  sent  him  the  following  letter 
which  was  also  published  in  the  Bridgeport  Standard . 

BRIDGEPORT,  Conn.,  Feb.  21,  1867. 
W.  H.  BARNUM,  Esq.,  Salisbury,  Conn.: 

Dear  Sir :  Observing  that  the  Democratic  party  has  nominated  you  for  Con 
gress  from  this  district,  I  desire  to  make  you  a  proposition. 

The  citizens  of  this  portion  of  our  State  will  be  compelled,  on  the  first  Mondaj 
in  April  next,  to  decide  whether  you  or  myself  shall  represent  their  interests  and 
their  principles  in  the  Fortieth  Congress  of  the  United  States. 

The  theory  of  our  government  is,  that  the  will  of  the  people  shall  be  the  law 
of  the  land.  It  is  important,  therefore,  that  the  people  shall  vote  understand 


252  MY  WAR  ON  THE  RAILROADS. 

ingly,  and  especially  at  tliis  important  crisis  in  our  national  existence.  In  order, 
that  the  voters  of  this  district  shall  fully  comprehend  the  principles  by  which 
each  of  their  congressional  candidates  is  guided,  I  respectfully  invite  you  to  meet 
me  in  a  serious  and  candid  discussion  of  the  important  political  issues  of  the  day, 
at  various  towns  in  the  Fourth  Congressional  District  of  Connecticut,  on  each 
week-day  evening,  from  the  fourth  day  of  March  until  the  thirtieth  day  of  the 
same  month,  both  inclusive. 

If  you  will  consent  to  thus  meet  me  in  a  friendly  discussion  of  those  subjects, 
now  so  near  and  dear  to  every  American  bean,  and,  I  may  add,  possessing  at  this 
time  such  momentous  interest  to  all  civilized  nations  in  the  world  who  are  suf- 
fering from  misrule,  I  pledge  myself  to  conduct  my  portion  of  the  debate  with 
perfect  fairness,  and  with  all  due  respect  for  my  opponent,  and  doubt  not  you 
will  do  the  same. 

Never,  in  my  judgment,  in  our  past  history  as  a  nation,  have  interests  and 
questions  more  important  appealed  to  the  people  for  their  wise  and  careful  con- 
sideration. It  is  due  to  the  voters  of  the  Fourth  Congressional  District,  that  they 
have  an  early  and  full  opportunity  to  examine  their  candidates  in  regard  to 
these  important  problems,  and  I  shall  esteem  it  a  great  privilege  if  you  will 
accept  tliis  proposition. 

Please  favor  me  with  an  early  answer,  and  oblige, 

Truly  yours,  P.  T.  BARNUM. 

To  this  letter  Mr.  William  H.  Barnum  replied,  declining  to  accept  my  propo- 
sition to  go  before  the  people  of  the  district  and  discuss  the  political  questions  of 
the  day. 

When  Congress  met,  I  was  surprised  to  see  by  the  newspapers  that  the  seat  of 
my  opponent  was  to  be  contested  on  account  of  alleged  bribery,  fraud  and  cor- 
ruption in  securing  his  election.  This  was  the  first  intimation  that  I  had  ever 
received  of  such  an  intention,  and  I  was  never,  at  any  time  before  or  afterwards, 
consulted  upon  the  subject.  The  movement  proved  to  have  originated  with 
neighbors  and  townsmen  of  the  successful  candidate,  who  claimed  to  be  able  to 
prove  that  he  had  paid  large  sums  of  money  to  purchase  votes.  They  also  claimed 
that  they  had  proof  that  men  were  brought  from  an  adjoining  State  to  vote,  and 
that  in  the  office  of  the  successful  candidate  naturalization  papers  were  forged 
to  enabled  foreigners  to  vote  upon  them.  But,  I  repeat,  I  took  no  part  nor  lot  in 
the  matter,  but  concluded  that  if  I  had  been  defeated  by  fraud,  mine  was  the 
real  success. 


CHAPTER    XLI. 

BENNETT   AND   THE   HERALD. 

WHEN  the  old  American  Museum  burned  down,  and  while  the  ruins  were  still 
smoking,  I  had  numerous  applications  for  the  purchase  of  the  lease  of  the  two 
lots,  fifty-six  by  one  hundred  feet,  which  had  still  nearly  eleven  years  to  run.  It 
will  be  remembered  that  in  1847  I  came  back  from  England,  while  my  second 
lease  of  five  years  had  yet  three  years  more  to  run,  and  renewed  that  lease  for 
twenty-five  years  from  1851  at  an  annual  rental  of  $10,000.  It  was  also  stipulated 
that  in  case  the  building  was  destroyed  by  fire  the  proprietor  of  the  property 
should  expend  twenty-four  thousand  dollars  towards  the  erection  of  a  new  edifice, 
and  at  the  end  of  the  term  of  lease  he  was  to  pay  me  the  appraised  value  of  the 
building,  not  to  exceed  $100,000.  Rents  and  real  estate  values  had  trebled  since 
I  took  this  twenty-five  years'  lease,  and  hence  the  remaining  term  was  very  valu- 
able. I  engaged  an  experienced  and  competent  real  estate  broker  in  Pine  street 
to  examine  the  terms  of  my  lease,  and  in  view  of  his  knowledge  of  the  cost  of 
erecting  buildings  and  the  rentals  they  were  commanding  in  Broadway,  I  enjoined 
him  to  take  his  time,  and  make  a  careful  estimate  of  what  the  lease  was  worth  to 
me,  and  what  price  I  ought  to  receive  if  I  sold  it  to  another  party.  At  the  end 
of  several  days,  he  showed  me  his  figures,  which  proved  that  the  lease  was  fully 
worth  $5375,000.  As  I  was  inclined  to  have  a  museum  higher  up  town,  I  did  not 
wish  to  engage  in  erecting  two  buildings  at  once,  so  I  concluded  to  offer  my 
museum  lease  for  sale.  Accordingly,  I  put  it  into  the  hands  of  Mr.  Homer  Mor- 
gan, with  directions  to  offer  it  for  $235,000,  which  was  $50,000  less  than  the  value 
at  which  it  had  been  estimated. 

The  next  day  I  met  Mr.  James  Gordon  Bennett,  who  told  me  that  he  desired  to 
buy  my  lease,  and  at  the  same  time  to  purchase  the  fee  of  the  museum  property, 
for  the  erection  thereon  of  a  publication  building  for  the  New  York  Herald.  I 
said  I  thought  it  was  very  fitting  the  Herald  should  be  the  successor  of  the  Mu- 
seum, and  Mr.  Bennett  asked  my  price. 

"  Please  to  go  or  send  immediately  to  Homer  Morgan's  office,"  I  replied,  "  and 
you  will  learn  that  Mr.  Morgan  has  the  lease  for  sale  at  $235,000.  This  is  $50,000 
less  than  its  estimated  value;  but  to  you  I  will  deduct  $25,000  from  my  already 
reduced  price,  so  you  may  have  the  lease  for  $200,000." 

Bennett  replied  that  he  would  look  into  the  affair  closely;  and  the  next  day  his 
attorney  sent  for  my  lease.  He  kept  it  several  days,  and  then  appointed  an  hour 
for  me  to  come  to  his  office.  I  called  according  to  appointment.  Mr.  Bennett 
and  his  attorney  had  thoroughly  examined  the  lease.  It  was  the  property  of  my 
wife.  Bennett  concluded  to  accept  my  offer.  My  wife  assigned  the  lease  to  him, 
and  his  attorney  handed  me  Mr.  Bennett's  check  on  the  Chemical  Bank  for 
$200,000.  That  same  day  I  invested  $50,000  in  United  States  bonds;  and  the 
remaining  $150,000  was  similarly  invested  on  the  following  day.  I  learned  at  that 
time  that  Bennett  had  agreed  to  purchase  the  fee  of  the  property  for  $500,000. 
He  had  been  informed  that  the  property  was  worth  some  $350,000  to  $400,000,  and 
he  did  not  mind  paying  $100,000  extra  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  his  plans. 
But  the  parties  who  estimated  for  him  the  value  of  the  land  knew  nothing  of  the 

253 


xJ54  BENNETT   AND   THE   HERALD. 

t'ac  c  that  there  was  a  lease  upon  the  property,  else  of  course  they  would  in  their 
estimate  have  deducted  the  $300,000,  which  the  lease  would  cost.  When,  there- 
fore, Mr.  Bennett  saw  it  stated  in  the  newspapers  that  the  sum  which  he  had  paid 
for  a  piece  of  land  measuring  only  fifty-six  by  one  hundred  feet  was  more  than 
was  ever  before  paid  in  any  city  in  the  world  for  a  tract  of  that  size,  he  discov- 
ered the  serious  oversight  which  he  had  made;  and  the  owner  of  the  property 
was  immediately  informed  that  Bennett  would  not  take  it.  But  Bennett  had 
already  signed  a  bond  to  the  owner,  agreeing  to  pay  $100,000  cash,  and  to  mort- 
gage the  premises  for  the  remaining  $400,000. 

Supposing  that  by  this  step  he  had  shaken  off  the  owner  of  the  fee,  Bennett 
was  not  long  in  seeing  that,  as  he  was  not  to  own  the  land,  he  would  have  no 
possible  use  for  the  lease,  for  which  he  had  paid  the  $300,000;  and  accordingly  his 
next  step  was  to  shake  me  off  also,  and  get  back  the  money  he  had  paid  me. 

My  business  for  many  years,  as  manager  of  the  Museum  and  other  public 
entertainments,  compelled  me  to  court  notoriety ;  and  I  always  found  Bennett's 
abuse  far  more  remunerative  than  his  praise,  even  if  I  could  have  had  the  praise 
at  the  same  price,  that  is,  for  nothing.  Especially  was  it  profitable  to  me  when  I 
could  be  the  subject  of  scores  of  lines  of  his  scolding  editorials  free  of  charge, 
instead  of  paying  him  forty  cents  a  line  for  advertisements,  which  would  not 
attract  a  tenth  part  so  much  attention.  Bennett  had  tried  abusing  me,  off  and 
on,  for  twenty  years,  on  one  occasion  refusing  my  advertisement  altogether  for 
the  space  of  about  a  year;  but  I  always  managed  to  be  the  gainer  by  his  course. 
Now,  however,  when  new  difficulties  threatened,  all  the  leading  managers  in  New 
York  were  members  of  the  "Managers'  Association,"  and  as  we  all  submitted  to 
the  arbitrary  and  extortionate  demands  of  the  Herald,  Bennett  thought  he  had 
but  to  crack  his  whip,  in  order  to  keep  any  and  all  of  us  within  the  traces.  A  ccord- 
ingly,  one  day  Bennett's  attorney  wrote  me  a  letter,  saying  that  he  would  like  to 
have  me  call  on  him  at  his  office  the  following  morning.  Not  dreaming  of  the 
object,  I  called  as  desired,  and  after  a  few  pleasant  commonplace  remarks  about 
the  weather,  and  other  trifles,  the  attorney  said: 

"  Mr.  Barnum,  I  have  sent  for  you  to  say  that  Mr.  Bennett  has  concluded  not 
to  purchase  the  museum  lots,  and  therefore  that  you  had  better  take  back  the 
lease,  and  return  the  $300,000  paid  for  it." 

"  Are  you  in  earnest  ?"  I  asked  with  surprise. 

"  Certainly,  quite  so,"  he  answered. 

"Really,"  I  said,  smiling,  "I  am  sorry  I  can't  accommodate  Mr.  Bennett;  1 
have  not  got  the  little  sum  about  me;  in  fact,  I  have  spent  the  money." 

"It  will  be  better  for  you  to  take  back  the  lease,"  said  the  attorney,  seriously. 

"Nonsense,"  I  replied,  "I  shall  do  nothing  of  the  sort,  I  don't  make  child's 
bargains.  The  lease  was  cheap  enough,  but  I  have  other  business  to  attend  to, 
and  shall  have  nothing  to  do  with  it." 

The  attorney  said  very  little  in  reply;  but  I  could  see,  by  the  almost  benignant 
sorrow  expressed  upon  his  countenance,  that  he  evidently  pitied  me  for  the  temer- 
ity that  would  doubtless  lead  me  into  the  jaws  of  the  insatiable  monster  of  the 
Herald.  The  next  morning  I  observed  that  the  advertisement  of  my  entertain- 
ments with  my  Museum  Company  at  Winter  Garden  was  left  out  of  the  Herald 
columns.  I  went  directly  to  the  editorial  rooms  of  the  Herald;  and  learning 
that  Bennett  was  not  in,  I  said  to  Mr.  Hudson,  then  managing  editor: 

"My  advertisement  is  left  out  of  the  Herald:  is  there  a  screw  loose  ?" 

"  1  believe  there  is,"  was  the  reply. 

"  What  is  the  matter  ?"  I  asked. 


t 

BENNETT  AND  THE  HERALD.  255 

"You  must  ask  the  Emperor,"  said  Mr.  Hudson,  meaning  of  course  Bennett. 

"When  will  the  'Emperor'  be  in?"  I  enquired.  "Next  Monday,"  was  the 
answer. 

"  Well,  I  shall  not  see  him,"  I  replied;  "  but  I  wish  to  have  this  thing  settled  at 
once.  Mr.  Hudson,  I  now  tender  you  the  money  for  the  insertion  of  my  Museum 
advertisement  on  the  same  terms  as  are  paid  by  other  places  of  amusement;  will 
you  publish  it?" 

"I  will  not,"  Mr.  Hudson  peremptorily  replied. 

"That  is  all,"  I  said.  Mr.  Hudson  then  smilingly  and  blandly  remarked,  "1 
have  formally  answered  your  formal  demand,  because  I  suppose  you  require  it ; 
but  you  know,  Mr.  Barnum,  I  can  only  obey  orders."  I  assured  him  that  I 
understood  the  matter  perfectly,  and  attached  no  blame  to  him  in  the  premises. 
I  then  proceeded  to  notify  the  secretary  of  the  "  Managers'  Association  "  to  call 
the  managers  together  at  twelve  o'clock  the  following  day;  and  there  was  a  full 
meeting  at  the  appointed  time.  I  stated  the  facts  in  the  case  in  the  Herald  affair, 
and  simply  remarked,  that  if  we  did  not  make  common  cause  against  any  news- 
paper publisher  who  excluded  an  advertisement  from  his  columns  simply  to 
gratify  a  private  pique,  it  was  evident  that  either  and  all  of  us  were  liable  to 
imposition  at  any  time. 

One  of  the  managers  immediately  made  a  motion  that  the  entire  Association 
should  stop  their  advertising  and  bill  printing  at  the  Herald  office,  and  have  no 
further  connection  with  that  establishment.  Mr.  Lester  Wallack  advised  that 
this  motion  should  not  be  adopted  until  a  committee  had  waited  upon  Bennett, 
and  had  reported  the  result  of  the  interview  to  the  Association.  Accordingly, 
Messrs.  Wallack,  Wheatley  and  Stuart  were  delegated  to  go  down  to  the  Herald 
office  to  call  on  Mr.  Bennett. 

The  moment  Bennett  saw  them,  he  evidently  suspected  the  object  of  their 
mission,  for  he  at  once  commenced  to  speak  to  Mr.  Wallack  in  a  patronizing 
manner;  told  him  how  long  he  had  known,  and  how  much  he  respected  his  late 
father,  who  was  "a  true  English  gentleman  of  the  old  school,"  with  much  more 
in  the  same  strain.  Mr.  Wallack  replied  to  Bennett  that  the  three  managers 
were  appointed  a  committee  to  wait  upon  him  to  ascertain  if  he  insisted  upon 
excluding  from  his  columns  the  Museum  advertisements — not  on  account  of  any 
objection  to  the  contents  of  the  advertisements,  or  to  the  Museum  itself,  but 
simply  because  he  had  a  private  business  disagreement  with  the  proprietor ;  inti- 
mating that  such  a  proceeding,  for  such  a  reason,  and  no  other,  might  lead  to  a 
rupture  of  business  relations  with  other  managers.  In  reply,  Mr.  Bennett  had 
something  to  say  about  the  fox  that  had  suffered  tailwise  from  a  trap,  and  there- 
upon advised  all  other  foxes  to  cut  their  tails  off;  and  he  pointed  the  fable  by 
setting  forth  the  impolicy  of  drawing  down  upon  the  Association  the  vengeance 
of  the  Herald.  The  committee,  however,  coolly  insisted  upon  a  direct  answer  to 
their  question. 

Bennett  then  answered:  "  I  will  not  publish  Bamurn's  advertisement;  I  do  my 
business  as  I  please,  and  in  my  own  way." 

"  So  do  we,"  replied  one  of  the  managers,  and  the  committee  withdrew. 

The  next  day  the  Managers'  Association  met,  heard  the  report,  and  unanimously 
resolved  to  withdraw  their  advertisements  from  the  Herald,  and  their  patronage 
from  the  Herald  job  establishment,  and  it  was  done.  Nevertheless,  the  Herald 
for  several  days  continued  to  print  gratuitously  the  advertisements  of  Wallack's 
Theater  and  Niblo's  Garden,  and  inordinately  puffed  these  establishments,  evi- 
dently in  order  to  ease  the  fall,  and  to  convey  the  idea  that  some  of  the  theaters 
patronized  the  Herald,  and  perhaps  hoping  by  praising  these  managers  to  draw 


t 

256  BENNETT  AND  THE   HERALD. 

them  back  again,  and  so  to  nullify  the  agreement  of  the  Association  in  regard  to 
the  Herald.  Thereupon,  the  managers  headed  their  advertisements  in  all  the 
other  New  York  papers  with  the  line,  "This  establishment  does  not  advertise  in 
the  New  York  Herald,"  and  for  many  months  this  announcement  was  kept  at  the 
top  of  every  theatrical  advertisement  and  on  the  posters  and  playbills. 

The  Herald  then  began  to  abuse  and  villif  y  the  theatrical  and  opera  managers, 
their  artists  and  their  performances,  and  by  way  of  contrast  profusely  praised 
Tony  Pastor's  Bowery  show,  and  sundry  entertainments  of  a  similar  character, 
which  of  course  was  well  understood  by  the  public  and  relished  accordingly. 
Meanwhile,  the  first-class  theaters  prospered  amazingly  under  the  abuse  of  Ben- 
nett. Their  receipts  were  never  larger,  and  their  houses  never  more  thronged. 
The  public  took  sides  in  the  matter  with  the  managers  and  against  the  Herald, 
and  thousands  of  people  went  to  the  theaters  merely  to  show  their  willingness 
to  support  the  managers  and  to  spite  "Old  Bennett."  The  editor  was  fairly 
caught  in  his  own  trap;  other  journals  began  to  estimate  the  loss  the  Herald  sus- 
tained by  the  action  of  the  managers,  and  it  was  generally  believed  that  this  loss- 
in  advertising  and  job  printing  was  not  less  than  from  $75,000  to  $100,000  a  year. 
The  Herald's  circulation  also  suffered  terribly,  since  hundreds  of  people,  at  the 
hotels  and  elsewhere,  who  were  accustomed  to  buy  the  paper  solely  for  the  sake 
of  seeing  what  amusements  were  announced  for  the  evening,  now  bought  other 
papers.  This  was  the  hardest  blow  of  all,  and  it  fully  accounted  for  the  abuse 
which  the  Herald  daily  poured  out  upon  the  theaters. 

Bennett  evidently  felt  ashamed  of  the  whole  transaction;  he  would  never 
publish  the  facts  in  his  columns,  though  he  once  stated  in  an  editorial  that  it  had 
been  reported  that  he  had  been  cheated  in  purchasing  the  Broadway  property; 
that  the  case  had  gone  to  court,  and  the  public  would  soon  know  all  the  particu- 
lars. Some  persons  supposed  by  this  that  Bennett  had  sued  me;  but  this  was  far 
from  being  the  case.  The  owner  of  the  lots  sued  Bennett,  to  compel  him  to  take 
the  title  and  pay  for  the  property  as  per  agreement;  and  that  was  all  the  "law '- 
there  was  about  it.  He  held  James  Gordon  Bennett's  bond,  that  he  would  pay 
him  half  a  million  of  dollars  for  the  land,  as  follows:  $100,000  cash,  and  a  bond 
and  mortgage  upon  the  premises  for  the  remaining  $400,000.  The  day  before  the 
suit  was  to  come  to  trial,  Bennett  came  forward,  took  the  deed,  and  paid  $100,000 
cash,  and  gave  a  bond  and  mortgage  of  the  entire  premises  for  $400,000. 

Had  I  really  taken  back  the  lease  as  Bennett  desired,  he  would  have  been  in  a 
worse  scrape  than  ever;  for  having  been  compelled  to  take  the  property,  he  would 
have  been  obliged,  as  my  landlord,  to  go  on  and  assist  in  building  a  Museum  for 
me,  according  to  the  terms  of  my  lease,  and  a  Museum  I  should  certainly  have 
built  on  Bennett's  property,  even  if  I  had  owned  a  dozen  Museums  up  town. 

In  the  autumn  of  1868,  the  associated  managers  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
punishment  of  Bennett  for  two  years  was  sufficient,  and  they  consented  to  restore 
their  advertisements  to  the  Herald,  I  was  then  carrying  on  my  new  Museum, 
and  although  I  did  not  immediately  resume  advertising  in  the  Herald,  I  have 
since  done  so. 

Mr.  Bennett  died  in  1872.  In  these  pages  I  have  not  been  sparing  of  criticism 
upon  his  business  plans  and  schemes,  but  cannot  forbear  acknowledgment  of  the 
extraordinary  talent  and  tact  of  this  great  journalist.  By  enterprise  and  energy 
he  attained  a  world-wide  reputation  and  a  fortune  of  large  proportions.  Let 
personal  conflicts  be  buried  in  forgiving  forgetfulness. 


CHAPTER    XLII. 

PUBLIC    LECTURING. 

DURING  the  summer  of  1866,  Mr.  Edwin  L.  Brown,  Corresponding  Secretary 
of  the  "Associated  Western  Literary  Societies,"  opened  a  correspondence  with 
me  relative  to  delivering,  in  the  ensuing  season,  my  lecture  on  "Success  in  Life," 
before  some  sixty  lyceums,  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations,  and  Literary 
Societies  belonging  to  the  union  which  Mr.  Brown  represented.  The  scheme 
embraced  an  extended  tour  through  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Wis- 
consin, Missouri  and  Iowa,  and  I  was  to  receive  one  hundred  dollars  for  every 
repetition  of  my  lecture,  with  all  my  traveling  expenses  on  the- route.  Agreeing 
to  these  terms,  I  commenced  the  engagement  at  the  appointed  time,  and,  averag- 
ing five  lectures  a  week,  I  finished  the  prescribed  round  just  before  New  Year's. 
Before  beginning  this  engagement,  however,  I  gave  the  lecture  for  other 
associations  at  Wheeling,  Virginia,  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  Louisville,  Kentucky. 
I  also  delivered  the  lecture  in  Chicago,  for  Professor  Eastman,  who  at  that  time 
had  one  of  his  Business  Colleges  in  that  city.  He  engaged  the  celebrated  Crosby 
Opera  House  for  the  occasion,  and  I  think,  with  perhaps  two  exceptions,  I  never 
spoke  before  so  large  and  intelligent  an  audience  as  was  there  assembled.  It  was 
estimated  that  from  five  to  six  thousand  ladies  and  gentlemen  were  gathered  in 
that  capacious  building;  and  nearly  as  many  more  went  away  unable  to  obtain 
admission.  I  was  glad  to  observe  by  the  action  of  the  audience,  and  by  th<* 
journals  of  the  following  day,  that  my  efforts  on  that  occasion  were  satisfactory. 
Indeed,  though  it  is  necessarily  egotistical,  I  may  truly  say  that  with  this  lecture 
I  always  succeeded  in  pleasing  my  hearers.  I  may  add,  that  I  have  invariably, 
as  a  rule,  devoted  to  charitable  purposes  every  penny  I  ever  received  for  lectur- 
ing, except  while  I  was  under  the  great  Jerome  Clock  cloud  in  England,  when  I 
needed  all  I  could  earn. 

My  western  tour  was  delightful ;  indeed  it  was  almost  an  ovation.  I  found,  in 
fact,  that  when  I  had  strayed  so  far  from  home,  the  curiosity  exhibitor  himself 
became  quite  a  curiosity.  On  several  occasions,  in  Iowa,  I  was  introduced  to 
ladies  and  gentlemen,  who  had  driven  thirty  miles  in  carriages  to  hear  me.  I 
insisted,  however,  that  it  was  more  to  see  than  to  hear;  and  I  asked  them  if  that 
was  not  really  the  case.  In  several  instances  they  answered  in  the  affirmative. 
In  fact,  one  quaint  old  lady  said:  "Why,  to  tell  you  the  truth,  Mr.  Barnum,  we 
have  read  so  much  about  you,  and  your  Museum  and  your  queer  carryings-on, 
that  we  were  not  quite  sure  but  you  had  horns  and  cloven  feet,  and  so  we  came 
to  satisfy  our  curiosity;  but,  la,  me!  I  don't  see  but  what  you  look  a  good  deal 
like  other  folks,  after  all." 

On  my  tour,  in  attempting  to  make  the  connection  from  Cleveland,  Ohio,  to 
Fort  Wayne,  Indiana,  via  Toledo,  I  arrived  at  the  latter  city  at  one  o'clock  P.  M., 
which  was  about  two  hours  too  late  to  catch  the  train  in  time  for  the  hour 
announced  for  my  lecture  that  evening.  I  went  to  Mr.  Andrews,  the  superin- 
tendent of  the  Toledo,  Wabash  and  Western  Railway,  and  told  him  I  wanted  to 
hire  a  locomotive  and  car  to  run  to  Fort  Wayne,  as  I  must  be  there  at  eight 
o'clock  at  night. 

257 


258  PUBLIC  LECTURING. 

"  It  is  an  impossibility,"  said  Mr.  Andrews  ;  "  the  distance  is  ninety-four  miles 
and  no  train  leaves  here  till  morning.  The  road  is  much  occupied  by  freight 
trains,  and  we  never  run  extra  trains  in  this  part  of  the  country,  unless  the 
necessity  is  imperative." 

I  suppose  I  looked  astonished,  as  well  as  chagrined.  I  knew  that  if  I  missed 
lecturing  in  Fort  Wayne  that  evening,  I  could  not  appoint  another  time  for  that 
purpose,  for  every  night  was  engaged  during  the  next  two  months.  I  also  felt 
that  a  large  number  of  persons  in  Fort  Wayne  would  be  disappointed,  and  I  grew 
desperate.  Drawing  my  wallet  from  my  pocket,  I  said: 

"  I  will  give  two  hundred  dollars,  and  even  more,  if  you  say  so,  to  be  put  into 
Fort  Wayne  before  eight  o'clock  to-night;  and,  really,  I  hope  you  will  accommo- 
date me  " 

The  superintendent  looked  me  thoroughly  over  in  half  a  minute,  and  I  fancied 
he  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  I  was  a  burglar,  a  counterf  eiter,  or  something 
worse,  fleeing  from  justice.  My  surmise  was  confirmed,  when  he  slowly 
remarked : 

"Your  business  must  be  very  pressing,  sir." 

"It  is  indeed,"  I  replied;  "  I  am  Barnum,  the  Museum  man,  and  am  engaged 
to  speak  in  Fort  Wayne  to-night." 

He  evidently  did  not  catch  the  whole  of  my  response,  for  he  immediately  said. 

"  Oh,  it  is  a  show,  eh?    Where  is  old  Barnum  himself  ? " 

"I  am  Barnum,"  I  replied,  "and  it  is  a  lecture  which  I  am  advertised  to  give 
to-night;  and  I  would  not  disappoint  the  people  for  anything." 

"Is  this  P.  T.  Barnum?"  said  the  superintendent,  starting  to  his  feet. 

"  I  am  sorry  to  say  it  is,"  I  replied. 

"Well,  Mr.  Barnum,"  said  he,  earnestly,  "if  you  can  stand  it  to  ride  to  Fort 
Wayne  in  the  caboose  of  a  freight  train,  your  well-established  reputation  for 
punctuality  in  keeping  your  engagements  shall  not  suffer  on  account  of  the  Toledo, 
Wabash  and  Western  Raijroad." 

"  Caboose  1 "  said  I,  with  a  laugh,  "  I  would  ride  to  Fort  Wayne  astride  of  the 
engine,  or  boxed  up  and  stowed  away  in  a  freight  car,  if  necessary,  in  order  to 
meet  my  engagement." 

A  freight  train  was  on  the  point  of  starting  for  Fort  Wayne;  all  the  cars  were 
at  once  ordered  to  be  switched  off,  except  two,  which  the  superintendent  said  were 
necessary  to  balance  the  train;  the  freight  trains  on  the  road  were  telegraphed  to 
clear  the  track,  and  the  polite  superintendent,  pointing  to  the  caboose,  invited  me 
to  step  in.  I  drew  out  my  pocket-book  to  pay,  but  he  smilingly  shook  his  head, 
and  said:  "You  have  a  through  ticket  from  Cleveland  to  Fort  Wayne;  hand  it 
to  the  freight  agent  on  your  arrival,  and  all  will  be  right."* 

The  excited  state  of  mind  which  I  had  suffered  while  under  the  impression  that 
the  audience  in  Fort  Wayne  must  be  disappointed,  now  changed,  and  I  felt  as 
happy  as  a  king.  In  fact,  I  enjoyed  a  new  sensation  of  imperial  superiority,  in 
that  I  was  "monarch  of  all  I  surveyed,"  emperor  of  my  own  train,  switching 
all  other  trains  from  the  main  track,  and  making  conductors  all  along  the  line 
wonder  what  grand  mogul  had  thus  taken  complete  possession  and  control  of 
the  road.  Indeed,  as  we  sped  past  each  train,  which  stood  quietly  on  a  side 
track  waiting  for  us  to  pass,  I  could  not  help  smiling  at  the  glances  of  excited 
curiosity  which  were  thrown  into  our  car  by  the  agent  and  brakeman  of  the 
train  which  had  been  so  peremptorily  ordered  to  clear  the  track :  and  always  step- 

•See  Illustration,  page  252. 


PUBLIC   LECTURING.  259 

ping  at  the  caboose  door,  I  raised  my  hat,  receiving  in  return  an  almost  rev- 
erent salute,  which  the  occupants  of  the  waiting  train  thought  due,  no  doubt,  to 
the  distinguished  person  for  whom  they  were  ordered  by  special  telegram  to 
to  make  way. 

I  now  began  to  reflect  that  the  Fort  Wayne  lecture  committee,  upon  discover- 
ing that  I  did  not  arrive  by  the  regular  passenger  train,  would  not  expect  me  at 
all,  and  that  probably  they  might  issue  small  bills  announcing  my  failure  tc 
arrive.  I  therefore  prepared  the  following  telegram  which  I  despatched  to  them 
on  our  arrival  at  Napoleon,  the  first  station  at  which  we  stopped: 

Lecture  Committee,  Fort  Wayne :  Rest  perfectly  tranquil.  I  am  to  be  delivered  at  Fort 
Wayne  by  con  tract  by  half-past  seven  o'clock — special  train. 

At  the  same  station  I  received  a  telegram  from  Mr.  Andrews,  the  superintend- 
ent, asking  me  how  I  liked  the  caboose.  I  replied  : 

The  springs  of  the  caboose  are  softer  than  down  ;  I  am  as  happy  as  a  clam  at  high -water: 
I  am  being  carried  towards  Fort  Wayne  in  a  style  never  surpassed  by  Caesar's  triumphal 
march  into  Rome.  Hurrah  for  the  Toledo  and  Wabash  Railroad  ! 

At  the  invitation  of  the  engineer,  I  took  a  ride  of  twenty  miles  upon  the  loco- 
motive. It  fairly  made  my  head  swim.  I  could  not  reconcile  my  mind  to  the 
idea  that  there  was  no  danger;  and  intimating  to  the  engineer  that  it  would  be  a 
relief  to  get  where  I  could  not  see  ahead,  I  was  permitted  to  crawl  back  again  to 
the  caboose. 

I  reached  Fort  "Wayne  in  ample  time  for  the  lecture ;  and  as  the  committee  had 
discreetly  kept  to  themselves  the  fact  of  my  non-arrival  by  the  regular  train, 
probably  not  a  dozen  persons  were  aware  of  the  trouble  I  had  taken  to  f ulfUl  my 
engagement,  till  in  the  course  of  my  lecture,  under  the  head  of  "perseverance,"  I 
recounted  my  day's  adventures,  as  an  illustration  of  exercising  that  quality  when 
real  necessity  demanded.  The  Fort  Wayne  papers  of  the  next  day  published 
accounts  of  "Barnum  on  a  Locomotive,"  and  "A  Journey  in  a  Caboose;"  and, 
as  I  always  had  an  eye  to  advertising,  these  articles  were  sent  marked  to  news- 
papers in  towns  and  cities  where  I  was  to  lecture,  and  of  course  were  copied — 
thus  producing  the  desired  effects,  first,  of  informing  the  public  that  the  "  show- 
man "  was  coming,  and  next,  assuring  the  lecture  committee  that  Barnum  would 
be  punctually  on  hand  as  advertised,  unless  prevented  by  "  circumstances  over 
which  he  had  no  control" 

The  managers  of  railroads  running  west  from  Chicago,  pretty  rigidly  enforce 
a  rule  excluding  from  certain  reserved  cars,  all  gentlemen  traveling  without 
ladies.  As  I  do  not  smoke  I  avoided  the  smoking  cars;  and  as  the  ladies'  car  was 
sometimes  more  select  and  always  more  comfortable  than  the  other  cars,  I  tried 
various  expedients  to  smuggle  myself  in.  If  I  saw  a  lady  about  to  enter  the  car 
alone,  I  followed  closely,  hoping  thus  to  elude  the  vigilance  of  the  brakeman, 
who  generally  acts  as  door-keeper.  But  the  car  Cerberus  is  pretty  well  up  to  all 
such  dodges,  and  I  did  not  always  succeed.  One  one  occasion,  seeing  a  young 
couple,  evidently  just  married,  and  starting  on  a  bridal  tour,  about  to  enter  the 
car,  I  followed  closely,  but  was  stopped  by  the  door-keeper,  who  called  out: 

"How  many  gentlemen  are  with  this  lady." 

I  have  always  noticed  that  young,  newly-married  people,  are  very  fond  of  say- 
ing "  my  husband  "  and  "  my  wife; "  they  are  new  terms  which  sound  pleasantly 
to  the  ears  of  those  who  utter  them;  so,  in  answer  to  the  peremptory  inquiry  of 
the  door-keeper,  the  bridegroom  promptly  responded  : 


260  PUBLIC   LECTURING. 

"  I  am  this  lady's  husband." 

"  And  I  guess  you  can  see  by  the  resemblance  between  the  lady  and  myself," 
said  I  to  Cerberus,  "  that  I  am  her  father." 

The  astounded  husband  and  the  blushing  bride  were  too  much  "taken  aback" 
to  deny  their  newly-discovered  parent,  but  the  brakeman  said,  as  he  permitted 
the  young  couple  to  pass  into  the  car: 

"  We  can't  pass  all  creation  with  one  lady." 

"  I  hope  you  will  not  deprive  me  of  the  company  of  my  child  during  the  little 
time  we  can  remain  together,"  I  said  with  a  demure  countenance.  The  brake- 
man evidently  sympathized  with  the  fond  "parient"  whose  feelings  were 
sufficiently  lacerated  at  losing  his  daughter,  through  her  finding  a  husband,  and  I 
was  permitted  to  pass.  I  immediately  apologized  to  the  young  bride  and  her  hus- 
band, and  told  them  who  I  was,  and  my  reasons  for  the  assumed  paternity,  and 
they  enjoyed  the  joke  so  heartily  that  they  called  me  "  father  "  during  our  entire 
journey  together.  Indeed,  the  husband  privately  and  slyly  hinted  to  me  that 
the  first  boy  should  be  christened  "  P.  T." 

I  fulfilled  my  entire  engagement,  which  covered  the  lecturing  season,  and 
returned  to  New  York  greatly  pleased  with  my  western  tour.  Public  lecturing 
was  by  no  means  a  new  experience  with  me;  for,  apart  from  my  labors  in  that 
direction  in  England,  and  occasional  addresses  before  literary  and  agricultural 
associations  at  home,  I  had  been  prominently  in  the  field  for  many  years,  as  a 
lecturer  on  temperance.  My  attention  was  turned  to  this  subject  in  the  following 
manner: 

In  the  fall  of  1847,  while  exhibiting  General  Tom  Thumb  at  Saratoga  Springs, 
where  the  New  York  State  Fair  was  then  being  held,  I  saw  so  much  intoxication 
among  men  of  wealth  and  intellect,  filling  the  highest  positions  in  society,  that  I 
began  to  ask  myself  the  question,  What  guarantee  is  there  that  /  may  not  become 
a  drunkard  ?  and  I  forthwith  pledged  myself  at  that  time  never  again  to  partake 
of  any  kind  of  spirituous  liquors  as  a  beverage.  True,  I  continued  to  partake  of 
wine,  for  I  had  been  instructed,  in  my  European  tour,  that  this  was  one  of  the 
innocent  and  charming  indispensables  of  life.  I  however  regarded  myself  as  a 
good  temperance  man,  and  soon  began  to  persuade  my  friends  to  refrain  from  the 
intoxicating  cup.  Seeing  need  of  reform  in  Bridgeport,  I  invited  my  friend, 
the  Reverend  Doctor  E.  H.  Chapin,  to  visit  us,  for  the  purpose  of  giving  a  public 
temperance  lecture.  I  had  never  heard  him  on  that  subject,  but  I  knew  that  on 
whatever  topic  he  spoke,  he  was  as  logical  as  he  was  eloquent. 

He  lectured  in  the  Baptist  church  in  Bridgeport.  His  subject  was  presented  in 
three  divisions:  The  liquor-seller,  the  moderate  drinker,  and  the  indifferent  man. 
It  happened,  therefore,  that  the  second,  if  not  the  third  clause  of  the  subject,  had 
a  special  bearing  upon  me  and  my  position.  The  eloquent  gentleman  overwhelm- 
ingly proved  that  the  so-called  respectable  liquor-seller,  in  his  splendid  saloon  or 
hotel  bar,  and  who  sold  only  to  "  gentlemen,"  inflicted  much  greater  injury  upon 
the  community  than  a  dozen  common  groggeries — which  he  abundantly  illus- 
trated. He  then  took  up  the  "  moderate  drinker,"  and  urged  that  he  was  the 
great  stumbling-block  to  the  temperance  reform.  He  it  was,  and  not  the  drunk- 
ard in  the  ditch,  that  the  young  man  looked  at  as  an  example  when  he  took  his 
first  glass.  That  when  the  drunkard  was  asked  to  sign  the  pledge,  he  would  reply, 
"  Why  should  I  do  so  ?  What  harm  can  there  be  in  drinking,  when  such  men  as 
respectable  Mr.  A,  and  moral  Mr.  B  drink  wine  under  their  own  roof  J "  He 
urged  that  the  higher  a  man  stood  in  the  community,  the  greater  was  his  influ- 
ence either  for  good  or  for  eviL  He  said  to  the  moderate  drinker:  "Sir,  yon 


PUBLIC    LECTUKING.  261 

either  do  or  you  do  not  consider  it  a  privation  and  a  sacrifice  to  give  up  drinking. 
Which  is  it  ?  If  you  say  that  you  can  drink  or  let  it  alone,  that  you  can  quit  it 
forever  without  considering  it  a  self-denial,  then  I  appeal  to  you  as  a  man,  to  do 
it  for  the  sake  of  your  suffering  fellow-beings."  He  further  argued  that  if  it  was 
a  self-denial  to  give  up  wine-drinking,  then  certainly  the  man  should  stop,  for  he 
was  in  danger  of  becoming  a  drunkard. 

What  Doctor  Chapin  said  produced  a  deep  impression  upon  my  mind,  and,  after 
a  night  of  anxious  thought,  I  rose  in  the  morning,  took  my  champagne  bottles, 
knocked  off  their  heads,  and  poured  their  contents  upon  the  ground.  I  then  called 
upon  Doctor  Chapin,  asked  him  for  the  teetotal  pledge,  and  signed  it.  He  was 
greatly  surprised  in  discovering  that  I  was  not  already  a  teetotaler.  He  supposed 
such  was  the  case,  from  the  fact  that  1  had  invited  him  to  lecture,  and  he  little 
thought,  at  the  time  of  his  delivering  it,  that  his  argument  to  the  moderate 
drinker  was  at  all  applicable  to  me.  I  felt  that  I  had  now  a  duty  to  perform — to 
save  others,  as  I  had  been  saved,  and  on  the  very  morning  when  I  signed  the 
pledge,  I  obtained  over  twenty  signatures  in  Bridgeport.  I  talked  temperance  to 
all  whom  I  met,  and  very  soon  commenced  lecturing  upon  the  subject  in  the 
adjacent  towns  and  villages.  I  spent  the  entire  winter  and  spring  of  1851-2  in 
lecturing  free,  through  my  native  State,  always  traveling  at  my  own  expense, 
and  I  was  glad  to  know  that  I  aroused  many  hundreds,  perhaps  thousands,  to  the 
importance  of  the  temperance  reform.  I  also  lectured  frequently  in  the  cities  of 
New  York  and  Philadelphia,  as  well  as  in  other  towns  in  the  neighboring  States. 

While  in  Boston  with  Jenny  Land,  I  was  earnestly  solicited  to  deliver  two  tem- 
perance lectures  in  the  Tremont  Temple,  where  she  gave  her  concerts.  I  did  so; 
and  though  an  admission  fee  was  charged  for  the  benefit  of  a  benevolent  society, 
the  building  on  each  occasion  was  crowded.  In  the  course  of  my  tour  with 
Jenny  Land,  I  was  frequently  solicited  to  lecture  on  temperance  on  evenings 
when  she  did  not  sing.  I  always  complied  when  it  was  in  my  power.  In  this 
way  I  lectured  in  Baltimore,  Washington,  Charleston,  New  Orleans,  Cincinnati, 
St.  Louis,  and  other  cities,  also  in  the  ladies'  saloon  of  the  steamer  Lexing- 
ton, on  Sunday  morning.  In  August,  1853,  I  lectured  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and 
several  other  towns,  and  afterwards  in  Chicago,  Illinois,  and  in  Kenosha,  Wis- 
consin. An  election  was  to  be  held  in  Wisconsin  in  October,  and  the  friends 
of  prohibition  in  that  State  solicited  my  services  for  the  ensuing  month,  and  I 
could  not  refuse  them.  I  therefore  hastened  home  to  transact  some  business 
which  required  my  presence  for  a  few  days,  and  then  returned,  and  lectured  on 
my  way  in  Toledo,  Norwalk,  Ohio,  and  Chicago,  Dlinois.  I  made  the  tour  of  the 
State  of  Wisconsin,  delivering  two  free  lectures  per  day,  for  four  consecutive 
weeks,  to  crowded  and  attentive  audiences. 

My  lecture  in  New  Orleans,  when  I  was  in  that  city,  was  in  the  great  Lyceum 
Hall,  in  St.  Charles  street,  and  I  lectured  by  the  invitation  of  Mayor  Grossman, 
and  several  other  influential  gentlemen.  The  immense  hall  contained  more  than 
three  thousand  auditors,  including  the  most  respectable  portion  of  the  New 
Orleans  public.  I  was  in  capital  humor,  and  had  warmed  myself  into  a  pleasant 
state  of  excitement,  feeling  that  the  audience  was  with  me.  While  in  the  midst 
of  an  argument  illustrating  the  poisonous  and  destructive  nature  of  alcohol  to 
ihe  animal  economy,  .some  opponent  called  out,  "How  does  it  affect  us,  exter- 
nally or  internally  ? " 

".S-ternally,"  I  replied. 


PUBLIC    LECTURING. 

I  have  scarcely  ever  heard  more  tremendous  merriment  than  that  which  fol 
lowed  this  reply,  and  the  applause  was  so  prolonged  that  it  was  some  minutes 
before  I  could  proceed. 

On  the  first  evening  when  I  lectured  in  Cleveland,  Ohio  (it  was  in  the  Baptist 
church),  I  commenced  in  this  wise:  "  If  there  are  any  ladies  or  gentlemen  present 
who  have  never  suffered  in  consequence  of  the  use  of  intoxicating  drinks  as  a 
beverage,  either  directly  or  in  the  person  of  a  dear  relative  or  friend,  I  will  thank 
them  to  rise."  A.man  with  a  tolerably  glowing  countenance  arose.  "  Had  you 
never  a  friend  who  was  intemperate  ? "  I  asked. 
. "  Never  1 "  was  the  positive  reply. 

A  giggle  ran  through  the  opposition  portion  of  the  audience.  "  Really,  my 
friends,"  I  said,  "  I  feel  constrained  to  make  a  proposition  which  I  did  not  antici- 
pate. I  am,  as  you  are  all  aware,  a  showman,  and  I  am  always  on  the  look-out 
for  curiosities.  This  gentleman  is  a  stranger  to  me,  but  if  he  will  satisfy  me  to- 
morrow morning  that  he  is  a  man  of  credibility,  and  that  no  friend  of  his  was 
ever  intemperate,  I  will  be  glad  to  engage  him  for  ten  weeks  at  $200  per  week,  to 
exhibit  him  in  my  American  Museum  in  New  York,  as  the  greatest  curiosity  in 
this  country." 

A  laugh  that  was  a  laugh  followed  this  announcement. 

"They  may  laugh,  but  it  is  a  fact,"  persisted  my  opponent,  with  a  look  of 
dogged  tenacity. 

The  gentleman  still  insists  that  it  is  a  fact,"  I  replied.  "  I  would  like,  there- 
fore, to  make  one  simple  qualification  to  my  offer;  I  made  it  on  the  supposition 
that,  at  some  period  of  his  lif e,  he  had  friends.  Now,  if  he  never  had  any  friends, 
I  withdraw  my  offer;  otherwise,  I  will  stick  to  it." 

This,  and  the  shout  of  laughter  that  ensued,  was  too  much  for  the  gentleman, 
and  he  sat  down.  I  noticed  throughout  my  speech  that  he  paid  strict  attention, 
and  frequently  indulged  in  a  hearty  laugh.  At  the  close  of  the  lecture  he 
approached  me,  and,  extending  his  hand,  which  I  readily  accepted,  he  said,  "  I  was 
particularly  green  in  rising  to-night.  Having  once  stood  up,  I  was  determined 
not  to  be  put  down,  but  your  last  remark  fixed  me  !"  He  then  complimented 
me  very  highly  on  the  reasonableness  of  my  arguments,  and  declared  that  ever 
afterwards  he  would  be  found  on  the  side  of  temperance. 

I  have  lectured  in  Montreal,  Canada,  and  many  towns  and  cities  in  the  United 
States,  at  my  own  expense.  One  of  the  greatest  consolations  I  now  enjoy  is  that 
of  believing  I  have  carried  happiness  to  the  bosom  of  many  a  family.  In  the 
course  of  my  life  I  have  written  much  for  newspapers,  on  various  subjects,  and 
always  with  earnestness,  but  in  none  of  these  have  I  felt  so  deep  an  interest  as  in 
that  of  the  temperance  reform.  Were  it  not  for  this  fact,  I  should  be  reluctant 
to  mention  that,  besides  numerous  articles  for  the  daily  and  weekly  press,  I  wrot»- 
a  little  tract  on  "  The  Liquor  Business,"  which  expresses  my  practical  view  of 
the  use  and  traffic  in  intoxicating  drinks.  In  every  one  of  my  temperance  lee 
tures  since  the  beginning  of  the  year  1869,  I  have  regularly  read  the  following 
report,  made  by  Mr.  T.  T.  Cortis,  Overseer  of  the  Poor  in  Vineland,  New  Jersey : 

Though  we  have  a  population  of  10,000  people,  for  the  period  of  six  months  no  settler  or 
citizen  of  Vineland  has  required  relief  at  my  hands  as  overseer  of  the  poor.  Within  sev- 
enty days,  there  has  only  been  one  case  among  what  we  call  the  flpating  population,  at  the 
expense  of  $4.00.  During  the  entire  year,  there  has  only  been  but  one  indictment,  and  that 
a  trifling  case  of  assault  and  battery,  among  our  colored  population.  So  few  are  the  fires 
in  Vineiand,  that  we  have  no  need  of  a  fire  department.  There  has  only  been  one  house 
burnt  down  in  a  year,  and  two  slight  fires,  which  were  soon  put  out.  \Ve  practically  have 
no  debt,  and  our  taxes  are  only  one  per  cent  on  the  valuation.  The  police  expenses  of 
Vine'and  amount  to  $75.00  per  year,  the  sum  paid  to  me:  and  our  poor  expenses  a  mere 


PUBLIC   LECTURING.  2G3 

trifle.  I  ascribe  this  remarkable  state  of  things,  so  nearly  approaching  the  golden  age,  to 
the  industry  of  our  people,  and  the  absence  of  King  Alcohol.  Let  me  give  you,  in  contrast 
to  this,  the  state  of  things  in  the  town  from  which  I  came,  in  New  England.  The  popula- 
tion of  the  town  was  9,500 — a  little  less  than  that  of  Vineland.  It  maintained  forty  liquor 
shops.  These  kept  busy  a  police  judge,  city  marshal,  assistant  marshal,  four  night  watch- 
men, six  policemen.  Fires  were  almost  continual.  That  small  place  maintained  a  paid  fire 
department,  of  four  companies,  of  forty  men  each,  at  an  expense  of  $3,000.00  per  annum.  I 
belonged  to  this  department  for  six  years,  and  the  fires  averaged  about  one  every  two 
weeks,  and  mostly  incendiary.  The  support  of  the  poor  cost  $2,500.00  per  annum.  The 
debt  of  the  township  was  $120,000.00.  The  condition  of  things  in  this  New  England  town 
is  as  favorable  in  that  country  as  that  of  many  other  places  where  liquor  is  sold. 

It  seems  to  me  that  there  is  an  amount  of  overwhelming  testimony  and  unan- 
swerable argument  in  this  one  brief  extract,  that  makes  it  in  itself  one  of  the 
most  perfect  and  powerful  temperance  lectures  ever  written. 


CHAPTER    XLII1. 

THE   NEW    MUSEUM. 

MY  new  Museum  on  Broadway  was  liberally  patronized  from  the  start,  but  1 
felt  that  still  more  attractions  were  necessary  in  order  to  insure  constant  success. 
I  therefore  made  arrangements  with  the  renowned  Van  Amburgh  Menagerie 
Company  to  unite  their  entire  collection  of  living  wild  animals  with  the  Museum. 
The  new  company  was  known  as  the  "  Baruum  and  Van  Amburgh  Museum  and 
Menagerie  Company,"  and  as  such  was  chartered  by  the  Connecticut  Legislature, 
the  New  York  Legislature  having  refused  us  a  charter  unless  I  would  "see"  the 
"  ring  "  a  thousand  dollars'  worth,  which  I  declined.  I  owned  forty  per  cent,  and 
the  Van  Amburgh  Company  held  the  remaining  sixty  per  cent,  in  the  new  enter- 
prise, which  comprehended  a  large  traveling  menagerie  through  the  country  in 
summer,  and  the  placing  of  the  wild  animals  in  the  Museum  in  winter.  The 
capital  of  the  company  was  one  million  of  dollars,  with  the  privilege  of  doubling 
the  amount.  As  one  of  the  conditions  of  the  new  arrangement,  it  was  stipulated 
that  I  should  withdraw  from  all  active  personal  attention  to  the  Museum,  but 
should  permit  my  name  to  be  announced  as  General  Manager,  and  I  was  also 
elected  President  of  the  company. 

Meanwhile,  immense  additions  were  made  to  the  curiosity  departments  of  the 
new  Museum.  Every  penny  of  the  profits  of  this  Museum  and  of  the  two 
immense  traveling  menageries  of  wild  animals  was  expended  in  procuring  addi- 
tional attractions  for  our  patrons.  Among  other  valuable  novelties  introduced  in 
this  establishment  was  the  famous  collection  made  by  the  renowned  lion-slayer 
Gordon  Cummings.  This  was  purchased  for  me  by  my  faithful  friend,  Mr. 
George  A.  Wells,  who  was  then  traveling  in  Great  Britain  with  General  Tom 
Thumb.  The  collection  consisted  of  many  hundreds  of  skins,  tusks,  heads  and 
skeletons  of  nearly  every  species  of  African  animal,  including  numerous  rare 
specimens  never  before  exhibited  on  this  continent.  It  was  a  great  Museum  in 
itself,  and  as  such  had  attracted  much  attention  in  London  and  elsewhere,  but  it 
was  a  mere  addition  to  our  Museum  and  Menagerie;  and  was  exhibited  without 
extra  charge  for  admission. 

The  monthly  returns  made  to  the  United  States  Collector  of  Internal  Revenue 
for  the  district,  showed  that  our  receipts  were  larger  than  those  of  "Wallack's 
Theater,  Niblo's  Garden,  or  any  other  theater  or  place  of  amusement  in  New 
York,  or  in  America. 

Anxious  to  gather  curiosities  from  every  quarter  of  the  globe,  I  sent  Mr. 
John  Greenwood,  junior  (who  went  for  me  to  the  isle  of  Cyprus  and  to  Constan- 
tinople, in  1864),  on  the  "Quaker  City"  excursion,  which  left  New  York,  June 
8, 1867,  and  returned  in  the  following  November.  During  his  absence  Mr.  Green- 
wood traveled  17,735  miles,  and  brought  back  several  interesting  relics  from  the 
Holy  Land,  which  were  duly  deposited  in  the  Museum. 

Very  soon  after  entering  upon  the  premises,  I  built  a  new  and  larger  lecture 
room,  which  was  one  of  the  most  commodious  and  complete  theaters  in  New 
York,  and  I  largely  increased  the  dramatic  company.  Our  collection  swelled  so 

264 


THE   NEW   MUSEUM.  265 

rapidly  that  we  were  obliged  to  extend  our  premises  by  the  addition  of  another 
building,  forty  by  one  hundred  feet,  adjoining  the  Museum.  This  addition  gave 
us  several  new  halls,  which  were  speedily  filled  with  curiosities.  The  rapid 
expansion  of  the  establishment,  and  the  immense  interest  excited  in  the  public 
mind  led  me  to  consider  a  plan  I  had  long  contemplated,  of  taking  some  decided 
steps  towards  the  foundation  of  a  great  free  institution,  which  should  be  similar 
to  and  in  some  respects  superior  to  the  British  Museum  in  London.  "  The  Bar- 
num  and  Van  Amburgh  Museum  and  Menagerie  Company,"  chartered  with  a 
capital  of  $2,000,000  had,  in  addition  to  the  New  York  establishment,  thirty  acres 
of  land  in  Bridgeport,  whereon  it  was  proposed  to  erect  suitable  buildings  and 
glass  and  wire  edifices  for  breeding  and  acclimating  rare  animals  and  birds,  and 
training  such  of  them  as  were  fit  for  public  performances.  In  time,  a  new  build  ' 
ing  in  New  York,  covering  a  whole  square,  and  farther  up  town,  would  be  needed 
for  the  mammoth  exhibition,  and  I  was  not  without  hopes  that  I  might  be  th» 
means  of  establishing  permanently  in  the  city  an  extensive  zoological  garden. 

It  was  also  my  intention  ultimately  to  make  my  Museum  the  nucleus  of  a  great 
free  national  institution.  When  the  American  Museum  was  burned,  and  I  turned 
my  attention  to  the  collection  of  fresh  curiosities,  I  felt  that  I  needed  other  assist- 
ance than  that  of  my  own  agents  in  America  and  Europe.  It  occurred  to  me 
that  if  our  government  representatives  abroad  would  but  use  their  influence  to 
secure  curiosities  in  the  respective  countries  to  which  they  were  delegated,  a  free 
public  Museum  might  at  once  be  begun  in  New  York,  and  I  proposed  to  offer  a 
part  of  my  own  establishment  rent-free  for  the  deposit  and  exhibition  of  such 
rarities  as  might  be  collected  in  this  way.  Accordingly,  a  week  after  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  American  Museum,  a  memorial  was  addressed  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  asking  him  to  give  his  sanction  to  the  new  effort  to  furnish  the 
means  of  useful  information  and  wholesome  amusement,  and  to  give  such  instruc- 
tions to  public  officers  abroad  as  would  enable  them,  without  any  conflict  with 
their  legitimate  duties,  to  give  efficiency  to  this  truly  national  movement  for  the 
advancement  of  the  public  good,  without  cost  to  the  government.  This  memorial 
was  dated  July  20,  1865,  and  was  signed  by  Messrs.  E.  D.  Morgan,  Moses  Taylor, 
Abram  Wakeman,  Simeon  Draper,  Moses  H.  Grinnell,  Stephen  Knapp,  Benjamin 
R.  Winthrop,  Charles  Gould,  Wm.  C.  Bryant,  James  Wadsworth,  Tunis  W. 
Quick,  John  A.  Pitldn,  Willis  Gaylord,  Prosper  M.  Wetmore,  Henry  Ward 
Beecher,  and  Horace  Greeley.  This  memorial  was  in  due  time  presented,  and 
was  indorsed  as  follows: 

"  EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C'.,  April  27,  1866. 

The  purpose  set  forth  in  this  Memorial  IB  highly  approved  and  commended,  and  our 
Ministers,  Consuls  and  commercial  agents  are  requested  to  give  whatever  influence  in  car- 
rying out  the  object  within  stated  they  may  deem  compatible  with  the  duties  of  their 
respective  positions,  and  not  inconsistent  with  the  public  interests. 

ANDREW  JOHNSON." 

1  went  to  Washington  myself,  and  had  interviews  with  the  President,  Secre- 
taries Seward,  McCulloch  and  Welles,  and  also  with  Assistant  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  G.  V.  Fox,  who  gave  me  several  muskets  and  other  "rebel  trophies." 
During  my  stay  at  the  capital  I  had  a  pleasant  interview  with  General  Grant, 
who  told  me  he  had  lately  visited  my  Museum  with  one  of  his  sons,  and  had  been 
greatly  gratified.  Upon  my  mentioning,  among  other  projects,  that  I  had  an 
idea  of  collecting  the  hats  of  distinguished  individuals,  he  at  once  offered  to  send 
an  orderly  for  the  hat  he  had  worn  during  his  principal  campaigns.  Ah1  these 
12 


266  TI1E    NEW    Ml'SKL'M. 

gentlemen  cordially  approved  of  my  plan  for  the  establishment  of  a  National 
Museum  in  New  York. 

But  before  this  plan  could  be  put  into  effective  operation,  an  event  occurred 
which  is  now  to  be  narrated:  The  winter  of  1867-68  was  one  of  the  coldest  that 
had  been  known  for  years,  and  some  thirty  severe  snow-storms  occurred  during 
the  season.  On  Tuesday  morning,  March  3d,  1868,  it  was  bitter  cold.  A  heavy 
body  of  snow  was  on  the  ground,  and,  as  I  sat  at  the  breakfast  table  with  my 
wife  and  an  esteemed  lady  guest,  the  wife  of  my  excellent  friend,  Rev.  A.  C. 
Thomas,  I  read  aloud  the  general  news  from  the  morning  papers.  Leisurely 
turning  to  the  local  columns,  I  said,  "  Hallo  1  Barnum's  Museum  is  burned." 

"Yes,  said  my  wife,  with  an  incredulous  smile,  "I  suspect  it  is." 

"It  is  a  fact,"  said  I,  "just  listen;  'Barnum's  Museum  totally  destroyed  by 
fire.' " 

This  was  read  so  coolly,  and  I  showed  so  little  excitement,  that  both  of  the 
ladies  supposed  I  was  joking.  My  wife  simply  remarked: 

"Yes,  it  was  totally  destroyed  two  years  ago,  but  Bamum  built  another  one." 

"Yes,  and  that  is  burned,"  I  replied;  "now  listen,"  and  I  proceeded  very 
calmly  to  read  the  account  of  the  fire.  Mrs.  Thomas,  still  believing  from  my 
manner  that  it  was  a  joke,  stole  slyly  behind  my  chair,  and  looking  over  my 
shoulder  at  the  newspaper,  she  exclaimed: 

"  Why,  Mrs.  Bamum,  the  Museum  is  really  burned.  Here  is  the  whole  account 
of  it  in  this  morning's  paper." 

"  Of  course  it  is,"  I  remarked,  with  a  smile,  "  how  could  you  think  I  could  joke 
on  such  a  serious  subject !" 

The  papers  of  the  following  morning  contained  full  accounts  of  the  fire  ;  and 
editorial  writers,  while  manifesting  much  sympathy  for  the  proprietors,  also 
expressed  profound  regret  that  so  magnificent  a  collection,  especially  in  the 
zoological  department,  should  be  lost  to  the  city. 

The  cold  was  so  intense  that  the  water  froze  almost  as  soon  as  it  left  the  hose  of 
the  fire  engines;  and  when  at  last  everything  was  destroyed,  except  the  front 
granite  wall  of  the  Museum  building,  that  and  the  ladder,  signs,  and  lamp-posts 
in  front,  were  covered  in  a  gorgeous  frame-work  of  transparent  ice,  which  made 
it  altogether  one  of  the  most  picturesque  scenes  imaginable.  Thousands  of  per- 
sons congregated  daily  in  that  locality  in  order  to  get  a  view  of  the  magnificent 
ruins.  By  moonlight,  the  ice-coated  ruins  were  still  more  sublime;  and  for  many 
days  and  nights  the  old  Museum  was  "the  observed  of  all  observers,"  and  pho- 
tographs were  taken  by  several  artists.* 

When  the  Museum  was  burnt,  I  was  nearly  ready  to  bring  out  a  new  spectacle, 
for  which  a  very  large,  extra  company  had  been  engaged,  and  on  which  a  con- 
siderable sum  of  money  had  been  expended  hi  scenery,  properties,  costumes,  and 
especially  in  enlarging  the  stage.  I  had  expended  altogether,  some  $78,000  in 
building  the  new  lecture-room,  and  in  refitting  the  saloons.  The  curiosities  were 
inventoried  by  the  manager,  Mr.  Ferguson,  at  $288,000.  I  bought  the  real  estate 
only  a  little  while  before  the  tire,  for  $4(30,000,  and  there  was  an  insurance  on  the 
whole  of  $160,000;  and  hi  June,  1868,  1  sold  the  lots  on  which  the  building  stood, 
for  $432,000.  The  cause  of  the  fire  was  a  defective  flue  in  the  restaurant  hi  the 
basement  of  the  building. 

Thus,  by  the  destruction  of  Iranistan  and  two  Museums,  about  a  million  of 
dollars'  worth  of  my  property  had  been  destroyed  by  fire,  and  I  was  not  now 
long  in  making  up  my  mind  to  follow  Mr.  Greeley's  advice  on  a  former  occasion, 
to  "  take  this  fire  as  a  notice  to  quit,  and  go  a-fishing/' 

*  See  Illustration,  page  ;W4. 


THE    NEW    MUSEUM.  26? 

I  dissolved  with  the  Van  Amburgh  Company,  and  sold  out  to  them  all  my 
interest  in  the  personal  property  of  the  concern.  I  was  beset  on  every  side  to 
start  another  Museum,  and  men  of  capital  offered  to  raise  a  million  of  dollars,  if 
necessary,  for  that  purpose,  provided  I  would  undertake  its  management ;  but  I 
felt  that  I  had  enough  to  live  on,  and  I  earnestly  believed  the  doctrine  laid  down 
in  my  lecture  on  "  Money-Getting,"  in  regard  to  the  danger  of  leaving  too  much 
property  to  children. 

As  I  now  had  something  like  real  leisure  at  my  disposal,  in  the  summer  of  1868 
I  made  my  third  visit  to  the  White  Mountains.  To  me,  the  locality  and  scene 
are  ever  fresh  and  ever  wonderful.  From  the  top  of  Mount  Washington,  one 
can  see,  on  every  side  within  a  radius  of  forty  miles,  peaks  piled  on  peaks,  with 
smiling  valleys  here  and  there  between,  and,  on  a  very  clear  day,  the  Atlantic 
Ocean,  off  Portland,  Maine,  is  distinctly  visible — sixty  miles  away.  Beauty, 
grandeur,  sublimity,  and  the  satisfaction  of  almost  every  sense  combine  to  remind 
one  of  the  ejaculation  of  that  devout  English  soul  who  exclaims:  "  Look  around 
with  pleasure,  and  upward  with  gratitude." 

At  the  Profile  House,  near  the  Notch,  in  the  Franconia  range,  I  met  many 
acquaintances,  some  of  whom  had  been  there  with  their  families  for  several 
weeks.  When  tired  of  scenery-hunting  and  hill-climbing,  and  thrown  entirely 
upon  their  own  resources,  they  had  invented  a  "sell"  which  they  perpetrated 
upon  every  new-comer.  Naturally  enough,  as  I  was  considered  a  capital  subject 
for  their  fun,  before  I  had  been  there  half  an  hour  they  had  made  all  the  arrange- 
ments to  take  me  in.  The  "  sell "  consisted  in  getting  up  a  foot-race  in  which  all 
were  to  join,  and  at  the  word  "  go  "  the  contestants  were  to  start  and  run  across 
the  open  space  in  front  of  the  hotel  to  a  fence  opposite,  while  the  last  man  who 
should  touch  the  rail  must  treat  the  crowd.  Of  course,  no  one  touched  the  rail 
at  all,  except  the  victim.  I  suspected  no  trick,  but  tried  to  avoid  the  race,  urging 
in  excuse,  that  I  was  too  old,  too  corpulent,  and,  besides,  as  they  knew,  I  was  a 
teetotaler  and  would  not  drink  their  liquor. 

"  Oh,  drink  lemonade,  if  you  like,"  they  said,  "but  no  backing  out;  and  as  for 
corpulence,  here  is  Stephen,  our  old  stage-driver,  who  weighs  three  hundred,  and 
he  shall  run  with  the  rest." 

And,  in  good  truth,  Stephen,  in  a  warm  day  especially,  would  be  likely  to 
"  run  "  with  the  best  of  them;  but  I  did  not  know  then  that  Stephen  was  the  stool- 
pigeon  whom  they  kept  to  entrap  unwary  and  verdant  youths  like  myself  ;  so, 
looking  at  his  portly  form,  I  at  once  agreed  that  if  Stephen  ran  I  would,  as  1 
knew  that,  for  a  stout  man,  I  was  pretty  quick  on  my  feet.  Accordingly  at  the 
word  "  go,"  I  started  and  ran  as  if  the  traditional  enemy  of  mankind  were  in 
me  or  after  me,  but,  before  I  had  accomplished  half  the  distance,  I  wondered  why 
at  least,  one  or  two  of  the  crowd  had  not  outstripped  me,  for,  in  fact,  Stephen 
was  the  only  one  whom  I  expected  to  beat.  Looking  back  and  at  once  compre- 
hending the  "sell,"  I  decided  not  to  be  sold.  A  correspondent  of  the  New  York 
Sun  told  how  I  escaped  the  trick  and  the  penalty,  and  how  I  subsequently  paid 
off  the  tricksters,  in  a  letter  from  which  I  quote  the  following :  * 

"  Barnum  threw  up  his  hands  before  arriving  at  the  railing,  and  did  not  touch  it  at  all  I 
It  was  acknowledged  on  all  sides  that  the  '  biters  were  bit.'  '  But  you  run  well,'  said  those 
who  intended  the  'sell.'  'Yes,'  replied  Barnum,  in  high  glee,  'I  ran  better  than  I  did  for 
Congress,  but  I  was  not  green  enough  to  touch  the  rail!'  Of  course  a  roar  of  laughter 
followed,  and  the  '  sellers  r  resolved  to  try  the  game  the  next  morning  on  some  other  new- 
comer ;  but  their  luck  had  evidently  deserted  them,  for  the  next  man  also  '  smelt  a  rat,'  and, 
holding  up  his  hunds,  refused  to  touch  the  rail.  The  two  successive  failures  dampened  the 
ardor  of  the  "  sellers,"  and  they  relinquished  that  trick  as  a  bad  job.  But  the  way  Bar- 
num sold  nearly  the  whole  crowd  of  'sellers,'  in  detail,  on  the  following  afternoon,  by  the 

*  See  Illustration,  page  800. 


268  THE  NEW   MUSEUM. 

old  'sliver  trick,'  was  a  caution  to  sore  Rides.  So  much  laughing  In  one  day  was  probably 
never  before  done  in  that  locality.  One  after  another  succeeded  in  extracting  from  the 
palm  of  Barnum's  hand  what  each  at  first  supposed  was  a  tormenting  '  sliver,'  but  which 
turned  out  to  be  a  *  broom  splinter '  a  foot  long  which  was  hidden  up  B.'s  sleeve,  except 
the  small  point  which  appeared  from  under  the  end  of  his  thumb,  apparently  protruding 
from  under  the  skin  of  his  palm.  One  '  weak  brother '  nearly  fainUd  as  he  saw  come 
forth  some  twelve  inches  of  what  he  first  supposed  was  a  '  sliver,'  but  which  he  was  now 
thoroughly  convinced  was  one  of  the  nerves  from  Barnum's  arm.  Mr.  O'Brien,  the  Wall 
street  banker,  was  the  first  victim.  When  asked  what  he  thought  upon  seeing  such  a  long 
'sliver'  coming  from  Barnum's  hand,  he  solemnly  replied,  '  I  thought  he  was  a  dead  man!' 
It  was  acknowledged  by  all  that  Barnum  gave  them  a  world  of  'fan,1  and  that  he  and  his 
friends  left  the  Profile  House  with  flying  colors." 


CHAPTER    XLIV. 

CUKIOUS   COINCIDENCES — NUMBER  THIBTEEN. 

lw  the  summer  of  1868,  a  lady,  who  happened  to  be  at  that  time  an  inmate  of 
my  family,  upon  hearing  me  say  that  I  supposed  we  must  remove  into  our  sum- 
mer residence  on  Thursday,  because  our  servants  might  not  like  to  go  on  Friday, 
remarked: 

"  What  nonsense  that  is !  It  is  astonishing  that  some  persons  are  so  foolish  as 
to  think  there  is  any  difference  in  the  days.  I  call  it  rank  heathenism  to  be  so 
superstitious  as  to  think  one  day  is  lucky  and  another  unlucky;"  and  then,  in  the 
most  innocent  manner  possible,  she  added :  "I  would  not  like  to  remove  on  a 
Saturday,  myself,  for  they  say  people  who  remove  on  the  last  day  of  the  week 
don't  stay  long." 

Of  course  this  was  too  refreshing  a  case  of  undoubted  superstition  to  be  per- 
mitted to  pass  without  a  hearty  laugh  from  all  who  heard  it. 

I  suppose  most  of  us  have  certain  superstitions,  imbibed  in  our  youth,  and  still 
lurking  more  or  less  faintly  in  our  minds.  Many  would  not  like  to  acknowledge 
that  they  had  any  choice  whether  they  commenced  a  new  enterprise  on  a  Friday 
or  on  a  Monday,  or  whether  they  first  saw  the  new  moon  over  the  right  or  left 
shoulder.  And  yet,  perhaps,  a  large  portion  of  these  same  persons  will  be  apt 
to  observe  it  when  they  happen  to  do  anything  which  popular  superstition  calls 
"unlucky."  It  is  a  common  occurrence  with  many  to  immediately  make  a 
secret  "wish"  if  they  happen  to  use  the  same  expression  at  the  same  moment 
when  a  friend  with  whom  they  are  conversing  makes  it ;  nevertheless,  these  per- 
sons would  protest  against  being  considered  superstitious — indeed,  probably  they 
are  not  so  in  the  full  meaning  of  the  word. 

Several  years  ago,  an  old  lady,  who  was  a  guest  at  my  house,  remarked  on  a 
rainy  Sunday: 

"  This  is  the  first  Sunday  in  the  month,  and  now  it  will  rain  every  Sunday  in 
the  month;  that  is  a  sign  which  never  fails,  for  I  have  noticed  it  many  a  time." 

"Well,"  I  remarked,  smiling,  "watch  closely  this  time,  and  if  it  rains  on  the 
next  three  Sundays,  I  will  give  you  a  new  silk  dress." 

She  was  in  high  glee,  and  replied: 

"Well,  you  have  lost  that  dress,  as  sure  as  you  are  born." 

The  following  Sunday  it  did,  indeed,  rain. 

"  Ah,  ha  1 "  exclaimed  the  old  lady,  "  what  did  I  tell  you  ?  I  knew  it  would 
rain." 

I  smiled,  and  said,  "  all  right,  watch  for  next  Sunday." 

And  surely  enough,  the  next  Sunday  it  did  ram,  harder  than  on  either  of  the 
preceding  Sundays. 

"Now,  what  do  you  think?"  said  the  old  lady,  solemnly.  "I  tell  you  that 
sign  never  fails.  It  won't  do  to  doubt  the  ways  of  Providence,"  she  added  with 
a  sigh,  "  for  His  ways  are  mysterious  and  past  finding  out." 

The  following  Sunday,  the  sun  rose  in  a  cloudless  sky,  and  not  the  slightest 
appearance  of  rain  was  manifested  through  the  day.  The  old  lady  was  greatly 
disappointed,  and  did  not  like  to  hear  any  allusion  to  the  subject;  but  two  yearn 

269 


270  CURIOUS    COINCIDENCES — NUMBER  THIRTEEN. 

afterwards,  when  she  was  once  more  my  guest,  it  again  happened  to  rain  on  the 
first  Sunday  in  the  month,  and  I  heard  her  solemnly  predict  that  it  would,  every 
succeeding  Sunday  in  the  month,  "  for,"  she  remarked,  "  it  is  a  sign  that  never 
fails."  She  had  forgotten  the  failure  of  two  years  before;  indeed,  the  contin- 
uance and  prevalence  of  many  popular  superstitions  is  due  to  the  fact  that  we 
notice  the  "  sign"  when  it  happens  to  be  verified,  and  do  not  observe  it,  or  we 
forget  it,  when  it  fails.  Many  persons  are  exceedingly  superstitious  in  regard  to 
the  number  "  thirteen."  This  is  particularly  the  case,  I  have  noticed,  in  Catholic 
countries  I  have  visited,  and  I  have  been  told  that  superstition  originated  in  the 
fact  of  a  thirteenth  apostle  having  been  chosen,  on  account  of  the  treachery  of 
Judas.  At  any  rate,  I  have  known  numbers  of  French  persons  who  had  quite  a 
horror  of  this  fatal  number.  Once  I  knew  a  French  lady,  who  had  taken  pas- 
sage in  an  ocean  steamer,  and  who,  on  going  aboard,  and  finding  her  assigned 
state-room  to  be  "  No.  13,"  insisted  upon  it  that  she  would  not  sail  in  the  ship  at 
all;  she  had  rather  forfeit  her  passage  money,  though,  finally,  she  was  persuaded 
to  take  another  room.  And  a  great  many  people,  French,  English  and  Amer- 
ican, will  not  undertake  any  important  enterprise  on  the  thirteenth  day  of  the 
month,  nor  sit  at  table  with  a  full  complement  of  thirteen  persons.  With  regard 
to  this  number,  to  which  so  many  superstitions  cling,  I  have  some  interesting 
experiences  and  curious  coincidences,  which  are  worth  relating,  as  a  part  of  my 
personal  history. 

When  I  was  first  in  England  with  General  Tom  Thumb,  I  well  remember  din- 
ing one  Christmas  day  with  my  friends,  the  Brettells,  in  St.  James's  Palace,  in 
London.  Just  before  the  dinner  was  finished  (it  is  a  wonder  it  was  not  noticed 
before)  it  was  discovered  that  the  number  at  table  was  exactly  thirteen. 

"How  very  unfortunate,"  remarked  one  of  the  guests;  "I  would  not  have 
dined  under  such  circumstances  for  any  consideration,  had  I  known  it ! " 

"  Nor  I  either,"  seriously  remarked  another  guest. 

"Do  you  really  suppose  there  is  any  truth  in  the  old  superstition  on  that 
subject  ?"  I  asked. 

"  Truth  ! "  solemnly  replied  an  old  lady.  "  Truth  1  Why  I  myself  have  known 
three  instances,  and  have  heard  of  scores  of  others,  where  thirteen  persons  have 
eaten  at  the  same  table,  and  in  every  case  one  of  the  number  died  before  the  year 
was  out ! " 

This  assertion,  made  with  so  much  earnestness,  evidently  affected  several  of  the 
guests,  whose  nerves  were  easily  excited.  I  can  truthfully  state,  however,  that 
I  dined  at  the  Palace  again  the  following  Christmas,  and  although  there  were 
seventeen  persons  present,  every  one  of  the  original  thirteen  who  dined  there  the 
preceding  Christmas,  was  among  this  number,  and  all  in  good  health ;  although, 
of  course,  it  would  have  been  nothing  very  remarkable  if  one  had  happened  to 
have  died  during  the  last  twelve  months. 

While  I  was  on  my  Western  lecturing  tour  in  1866,  long  before  I  got  out  of  Illinois, 
1  began  to  observe  that  at  the  various  hotels  where  I  stopped  my  room  very  fre- 
quently was  number  thirteen.  Indeed,  it  seemed  as  if  this  number  turned  up  to  me 
as  often  as  four  times  per  week,  and  so,  before  many  days,  I  almost  expected  to 
have  that  number  set  down  to  my  name  wherever  I  signed  it  upon  the  register  of 
the  hotel.  Still,  I  laughed  to  myself,  at  what  I  was  convinced  was  simply  a  coin- 
cidence. On  one  occasion  I  was  traveling  from  Clinton  to  Mount  Vernon,  Iowa, 
and  was  to  lecture  in  the  college  of  the  latter  place  that  evening.  Ordinarily, 
I  should  have  arrived  at  two  o'clock  P.  M. ;  but  owing  to  an  accident  which  had 
occurred  to  the  train  from  the  West,  the  conductor  informed  me  that  our  arrival  in 


CURIOUS   COINCIDENCES — NUMBER  THIRTEEN.  27J 

Mount  Vernon  would  probably  be  delayed  until  after  seven  o'clock.  I  telegraphed 
that  fact  to  the  committee  who  were  expecting  me,  and  told  them  to  be  patient. 

When  we  had  arrived  within  ten  miles  of  that  town  it  was  dark.  I  sat  rather 
moodily  in  the  car,  wishing  the  train  would  ' '  hurry  up ; "  and  happening,  for  some 
cause  to  look  bacK  over  my  left  shoulder,  I  discovered  the  new  moon  through  the 
window.  This  omen  struck  me  as  a  coincident  addition  to  my  ill-luck,  and 
with  a  pleasant  chuckle  I  muttered  to  myself,  "Well,  I  hope  I  won't  get  room 
number  thirteen  to-night,  for  that  will  be  adding  insult  to  injury." 

I  reached  Mount  Vernon  a  few  minutes  before  eight,  and  was  met  at  the  depot 
by  the  committee,  who  took  me  in  a  carriage  and  hurried  to  the  Ballard  House. 
The  committee  told  me  the  hall  in  the  college  was  already  crowded,  and  they 
hoped  I  would  defer  taking  tea  until  after  the  lecture.  I  informed  them  that  I 
would  gladly  do  so,  but  simply  wished  to  run  to  my  room  a  moment  for  a  wash. 
While  wiping  my  face  I  happened  to  think  about  the  new  room,  and  at  once 
stepped  outside  of  my  bed-room  door  to  look  at  the  number.  It  was  "  number 
thirteen." 

After  the  lecture  I  took  tea,  and  I  confess  that  I  began  to  think  "  number  thir 
teen  "  looked  a  little  ominous.  There  I  was,  many  hundreds  of  miles  from  my 
family;  I  left  my  wife  sick,  and  I  began  to  ask  myself,  does  "  number  thirteen  " 
portend  anything  in  particular  ?  Without  feeling  willing  even  now  to  acknowl- 
edge that  I  felt  much  apprehension  on  the  subject,  I  must  say  I  began  to  take  a 
serious  view  of  things  in  general. 

I  mentioned  the  coincidence  of  my  luck  in  so  often  having  "number  thirteen" 
assigned  to  me  to  Mr.  Ballard,  the  proprietor  of  the  hotel,  giving  him  all  the 
particulars  to  date. 

"  I  will  give  you  another  room,  if  you  prefer  it,"  said  Mr.  Ballard. 

"No,  I  thank  you,"  I  replied  with  a  semi-serious  smile;  "  if  it  is  fate,  I  will 
take  it  as  it  comes;  and  if  it  means  anything  I  shall  probably  find  it  out  in  time. 
That  same  night,  before  retiring  to  rest,  I  wrote  a  letter  to  a  clerical  friend,  then 
residing  in  Bridgeport,  telling  him  all  my  experiences  in  regard  to  "number 
thirteen."  I  said  to  him  in  closing:  "  Don't  laugh  at  me  for  being  superstitious, 
for  I  hardly  feel  so;  I  think  it  is  simply  a  series  of  'coincidences'  which  appear 
the  more  strange  because  I  am  sure  to  notice  eveiy  one  that  occurs."  Ten  days 
afterwards  I  received  an  answer  from  my  reverend  friend,  in  which  he  cheerfully 
said:  "It's  all  right;  go  ahead  and  get  'number  thirteen'  as  of  ten  as  you  can. 
It  is  a  lucky  number,"  and  he  added: 

w Unbelieving  and  ungrateful  man!  What  is  thirteen  but  the  traditional  'baker's  dozen,' 
indicating  '  good  measure,  pressed  down,  shaken  together,  and  running  over,'  as  illustrated 
in  your  triumphal  lecturing  tour  ?  By  all  means  insist  upon  having  room  number  thirteen 
at  every  hotel;  anil  if  the  guests  at  any  meal  be  less  than  that  charmed  complement,  send 
out  and  compel  somebody  to  come  in. 

"  What  do  you  say  respecting  the  Thirteen  Colonies?  Any  ill-luck  in  the  number?  Was 
the  patriarch  Jacob  afraid  of  it  when  he  adopted  Ephraim  and  Manasseh,  the  two  sons  of 
Joseph,  so  as  to  complete  the  magic  circle  of  thirteen? 

"Do  you  not  know  that  chapter  thirteen  of  First  Corinthians  is  the  grandest  in  the  Bible, 
with  verse  thirteen  as  the  culmination  of  all  religions  thought?  And  can  you  read  verse 
thirteen  of  the  fifth  chapter  of  Revelation  without  the  highest  rapture?" 

But  my  clerical  friend  had  not  heard  of  a  certain  curious  circumstance  which 
occurred  to  me  after  I  had  mailed  my  letter  to  him  and  before  I  received  his 
answer. 

On  leaving  Mount  Vernon  for  Cedar  Rapids  the  next  morning,  the  landlord, 
Mr.  Ballard,  drove  me  to  the  railroad  depot.  As  I  was  stepping  upon  the  cars, 
Mr.  Ballard  shook  my  hand,  and  with  a  laugh  exclaimed:  "Good-by,  friend  Bar- 


CURIOUS   COINCIDENCES — NUMBER  THIRTEEN. 

I  hope  you  won't  get  room  number  thirteen  at  Cedar  Rapids  to-day."  "  1 
hope  not  1 "  I  replied  earnestly,  and  yet  with  a  smile.  I  reached  Cedar  Rapids  in 
an  hour.  The  lecture  committee  met  and  took  me  to  the  hotel.  I  entered  my 
name,  and  the  landlord  immediately  called  out  to  the  porter: 

"  Here,  John,  take  Mr.  Barnum's  baggage,  and  show  him  to  '  number  thirteen  ? ' " 

I  confess  that  when  I  heard  this  I  was  startled.  I  remarked  to  the  landlord 
that  it  was  certainly  very  singular,  but  was  nevertheless  true,  that  "number 
thirteen  "  seemed  to  be  about  th»  only  room  that  I  could  get  in  a  hotel. 

"We  have  a  large  meeting  of  railroad  directors  here  at  present,"  he  replied, 
"  and  'number  thirteen'  is  the  only  room  unoccupied  in  my  house." 

I  proceeded  to  the  room,  and  immediately  wrote  to  Mr.  Ballard  at  Mount  Ver- 
non,  assuring  him  that  my  letter  was  written  in  "number  thirteen,"  and  that 
this  was  the  only  room  I  could  get  in  the  hotel.  During  the  remainder  of  my 
journey,  I  was  put  into  "number  thirteen"  so  often  in  the  various  hotels  at 
which  I  stopped  that  it  came  to  be  quite  a  matter  of  course,  though  occasionally 
I  was  fortunate  enough  to  secure  some  other  number.  Upon  returning  to  New 
York,  I  related  the  foregoing  adventures  to  my  family,  and  told  them  I  was 
really  half  afraid  of  "number  thirteen. "  Soon  afterwards,  I  telegraphed  to  my 
daughter  who  was  boarding  at  the  Atlantic  House  in  Bridgeport,  asking  her  to 
engage  a  room  for  me  to  lodge  there  the  next  night,  on  my  way  to  Boston.  "Mr. 
Hale,"  said  she  to  the  landlord,  "father  is  coming  up  to-day;  will  you  please 
reserve  him  a  comfortable  room?"  "Certainly,"  replied  Mr.  Hale,  and  he 
instantly  ordered  a  fire  in  "room  thirteen  ! "  I  went  to  Boston  and  proceeded  to 
Lewiston,  Maine,  and  thence  to  Lawrence,  Massachusetts,  and  the  hotel  register 
there  has  my  name  booked  for  "  number  thirteen." 

My  experience  with  this  number  has  by  no  means  been  con  fined  to  apartments. 
In  1867  a  church  in  Bridgeport  wanted  to  raise  several  thousand  dollars  in  order 
to  get  freed  from  debt.  I  subscribed  one  thousand  dollars,  by  aid  of  which  they 
assured  me  they  would  certainly  raise  enough  to  pay  off  the  debt.  A  few  weeks 
subsequently,  however,  one  of  the  "brethren"  wrote  me  that  they  were  still  six 
hundred  dollars  short,  with  but  little  prospect  of  getting  it.  I  replied  that  I 
would  pay  one-half  of  the  sum  required.  The  brother  soon  afterwards  wrote  me 
that  he  had  obtained  the  other  half,  and  I  might  forward  him  my  subscription  of 
"  thirteen  "  hundred  dollars.  During  the  same  season  I  attended  a  fan-  in  Franklin 
Hall,  Bridgeport,  given  by  a  temperance  organization.  Two  of  my  little  grand- 
daughters accompanied  me,  and,  telling  them  to  select  what  articles  they  desired, 
I  paid  the  bill,  twelve  dollars  and  fifty  cents.  Whereupon  I  said  to  the  children, 
"I  am  glad  you  did  not  make  it  thirteen  dollars,  and  I  will  expend  no  more 
here  to-night."  We  sat  awhile  listening  to  the  music,  and  finally  started  for 
home,  and,  as  we  were  going,  a  lady  at  one  of  the  stands  near  the  door,  called 
out :  "  Mr.  Barnum,  you  have  not  patronized  me.  Please  take  a  chance  in  my 
lottery."  "  Certainly,"  I  replied  ;  "  give  me  a  ticket."  I  paid  her  the  price  (fifty 
cents),  and  after  I  arrived  home,  I  discovered  that  in  spite  of  my  expressed 
determination  to  the  contrary,  I  had  expended  exactly  "thirteen"  dollars  ! 

I  invited  a  few  friends  to  a  "clam-bake"  in  the  summer  of  1868,  and,  being 
determined  the  party  should  not  be  thirteen,  I  invited  fifteen,  and  they  all  agreed 
to  go.  Of  course,  one  man  and  his  wife  were  "disappointed,"  and  could  not  go — 
and  my  party  numbered  thirteen.  At  Christmas,  in  the  same  year,  my  children 
and  grandchildren  dined  with  me,  and  finding,  on  "counting  noses,"  that  they 
would  number  the  inevitable  thirteen,  I  expressly  arranged  to  have  a  high  chair 
nlaced  at  the  table,  and  my  youngest  grandchild,  seventeen  months  old,  was 


OTTEIOU8  COINCIDENCES — NUMBEE  THIBTEEN.  273 

placed  in  it,  so  that  we  should  number  fourteen,  After  the  dinner  was  over,  we 
discovered  that  my  son-in-law,  Thompson,  had  been  detained  down  town,  and  the 
number  at  dinner  table,  notwithstanding  my  extra  precautions,  was  exactly 
thirteen. 

Thirteen  was  certainly  an  ominous  number  to  me  in  1865,  for  on  the  thirteenth 
day  of  July,  the  American  Museum  was  burned  to  the  ground,  while  the  thir- 
teenth day  of  November  saw  the  opening  of  "  Barnum's  New  American  Museum," 
which  was  also  subsequently  destroyed  by  flre. 

Having  concluded  this  veritable  history  of  superstitious  coincidences  in  regard 
to  thirteen,  I  read  it  to  a  clerical  friend,  who  happened  to  be  present ;  and  after 
reading  the  manuscript,  I  paged  it,  when  my  friend  and  I  were  a  little  startled  to 
find  that  the  pages  numbered  exactly  thirteen. 


CHAPTER    XLV. 

SEA-SIDE   PARK.* 

PROM  the  time  when  I  first  settled  in  Bridgeport,  and  turned  my  attention  to 
opening  and  beautifying  new  avenues,  and  doing  whatever  lay  in  my  power  to 
extend  and  improve  that  charming  city,  I  was  exceedingly  anxious  that  public 
parks  should  be  established,  especially  one  where  good  drive-ways,  and  an  oppor- 
tunity for  the  display  of  the  many  fine  equipages  for  which  Bridgeport  is  cele- 
brated, could  be  afforded.  Mr.  Noble  and  I  began  the  movement  by  presenting 
to  the  city  the  beautiful  ground  in  East  Bridgeport  now  known  as  Washington 
Park — a  most  attractive  promenade  and  breathing-place,  and  a  continual  resort 
for  citizens  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  particularly  in  the  summer  evenings,  when 
one  of  the  city  bands  is  an  additional  attraction  to  the  pleasant  spot.  Thus 
our  city  was  far  in  advance  of  Bridgeport  proper  in  providing  a  prime  necessity 
for  the  health  and  amusement  of  the  people. 

Up  to  the  year  1865,  the  shores  of  Bridgeport,  west  of  the  public  wharves,  and 
washed  by  the  waters  of  Long  Island  Sound,  was  inaccessible  to  carriages,  or 
even  to  horsemen,  and  almost  impossible  for  pedestrianism.  The  shore  edge,  in 
fact,  was  strewn  with  rocks  and  boulders,  which  made  it,  like  "Jordan"  in  the 
song,  an  exceedingly  "hard  road  to  travel."  A  narrow  lane  reaching  down  to 
the  shore  enabled  parties  to  drive  near  to  the  water  for  the  purpose  of  Clamming, 
and  occasionally  bathing  ;  but  it  was  all  claimed  as  private  property  by  the  land 
proprietors,  whose  farms  extended  down  to  the  water's  edge.  On  several  occa- 
sions, at  low  tide,  I  endeavored  to  ride  along  the  shore  on  horseback,  for  the 
purpose  of  examining  "the  lay  of  the  land,"  in  the  hope  of  finding  it  feasible  to 
get  a  public  drive  along  the  water's  edge.  On  one  occasion,  in  1863,  I  succeeded 
in  getting  my  horse  around  from  the  foot  of  Broad  street,  in  Bridgeport,  to  a 
lane  over  the  Fail-field  line,  a  few  rods  west  of  "  Iranistan  avenue,"  a  grand 
street  which  I  have  since  opened  at  my  own  expense,  and  through  my  own  land. 
From  the  observations  I  made  that  day,  I  was  satisfied  that  a  most  lovely  park 
and  public  drive  might  be,  and  ought  to  be  opened  along  the  whole  water-front 
as  far  as  the  western  boundary  line  of  Bridgeport,  and  even  extending  over 
the  Fairfield  line. 

Foreseeing  that  in  a  few  years  such  an  improvement  would  be  too  late,  and 
having  in  mind  the  failure  of  the  attempt  in  1850  to  provide  a  park  for  the 
people  of  Bridgeport,  I  immediately  began  to  agitate  the  subject  in  the  Bridge- 
port papers,  and  also  in  daily  conversations  with  such  of  my  fellow-citizens  as  I 
thought  would  take  an  earnest  and  immediate  interest  in  the  enterprise.  I  urged 
that  such  an  improvement  would  increase  the  taxable  value  of  property  in  that 
vicinity  many  thousands  of  dollars,  and  thus  enrich  the  city  treasury;  that  it 
would  improve  the  value  of  real  estate  generally,  in  the  city  ;  that  it  would  be 
an  additional  attraction  to  strangers  who  came  to  spend  the  summer  with  us,  and 
to  those  who  might  be  induced  from  other  considerations  to  make  the  city  their 
permanent  residence;  that  the  improvement  would  throw  into  market  some  of 

"  See  Jllnstration.  page  276. 


SEA-SIDE    PARK  275 

the  most  beautiful  building  sites  that  could  be  found  anywhere  in  Connecticut ; 
and  I  dwelt  upon  the  absurdity,  almost  criminality,  that  a  beautiful  city  like 
Bridgeport,  lying  on  the  shore  of  a  broad  expanse  of  salt  water,  should  so  cage 
itself  in,  that  not  an  inhabitant  could  approach  the  beach.  With  these  and  like 
arguments  and  entreaties,  I  plied  the  people  day  in  and  "day  out,  till  some  of 
them  began  to  be  familiarized  with  the  idea  that  a  public  park  close  upon  the 
shore  of  the  Sound,  was  at  least  a  possible  if  not  probable  thing. 

But  certain  "conservatives,"  as  they  are  called,  said:  "Barnum  is  a  hair- 
brained  fellow,  who  thinks  he  can  open  and  people  a  New  York  Broadway 
through  a  Connecticut  wilderness;"  and  the  "old  fogies"  added:  "Yes,  he  is 
trying  to  start  another  chestnut-wood  fire  for  the  city  to  blow  forever ;  but  the 
city  or  town  of  Bridgeport  will  not  pay  out  money  to  lay  out  or  to  purchase 
public  parks.  If  people  want  to  see  green  grass  and  trees,  they  have  only  to  walk 
or  drive  half  a  mile  either  way  from  the  city  limits,  and  they  will  come  to  farms 
where  they  can  see  either,  or  both,  for  nothing ;  and,  if  they  are  anxious  to  see 
salt  water,  and  to  get  a  breath  of  the  Sound  breeze,  they  can  take  boats  at  the 
wharves,  and  sail  or  row  till  they  are  entirely  satisfied." 

Thus  talked  the  conservatives  and  the  "old  fogies,"  who,  unhappily,  even  if 
they  are  in  a  minority,  are  always  a  force  in  all  communities.  I  soon  saw  that  it 
was  of  no  use  to  expect  to  get  the  city  to  pay  for  a  park.  The  next  thing  was  to 
see  if  the  land  could  not  be  procured  free  of  charge,  or  at  a  nominal  cost,  pro- 
vided the  city  would  improve  and  maintain  it  as  a  public  park.  I  approached  the 
farmers  who  owned  the  land  lying  immediately  upon  the  shore,  and  tried  to  con- 
vince them  that,  if  they  would  give  the  city,  free,  a  deep  slip  next  to  the  water, 
to  be  used  as  a  public  park,  it  would  increase  in  value  the  rest  of  their  land  so 
much  as  to  make  it  a  profitable  operation  for  them.  But  it  was  like  beating 
against  the  wind.  They  were  "  not  so  stupid  as  to  think  that  they  could  become 
gainers  by  giving  away  their  property."  Such  trials  of  patience  as  I  underwent 
in  a  twelvemonth,  in  the  endeavor  to  carry  this  point,  few  persons  who  have 
not  undertaken  like  almost  hopeless  labor,  can  comprehend.  At  last,  I  enlisted 
the  attention  of  Messrs.  Nathaniel  Wheeler,  James  Loomis,  Francis  Ives,  Frede- 
rick Wood,  and  a  few  more  gentlemen,  and  persuaded  them  to  walk  with  me 
over  the  ground,  which  to  me  seemed  in  every  way  practicable  for  a  park.  These 
gentlemen,  who  were  men  of  taste,  as  well  as  of  enterprise  and  public  spirit, 
very  soon  coincided  in  my  ideas  as  to  the  feasibility  of  the  plan  and  the  advan- 
tages of  the  site ;  and  some  of  them  went  with  me  to  talk  with  the  land-owners, 
adding  their  own  pleas  to  the  arguments  I  had  already  advanced.  After  much 
pressing  and  persuading,  we  got  the  terms  upon  which  the  proprietors  would  give 
a  portion  and  sell  another  portion  of  their  land,  which  fronted  on  the  water,  pro- 
vided the  land  thus  disposed  of,  should  forever  be  appropriated  to  the  purposes 
of  a  public  park.  But,  unfortunately,  a  part  of  the  land  it  was  desirable  to 
include,  was  the  small  Mallett  farm,  of  some  thirty  acres,  then  belonging  to  an 
unsettled  estate,  and  neither  the  administrator  nor  the  heirs  could  or  would  give 
away  a  rod  of  it.  But  the  whole  farm  was  for  sale— and,  to  overcome  the  diffi- 
culty in  the  way  of  its  transfer  for  the  public  benefit,  I  bought  it  for  about 
$12,000,  and  then  presented  the  required  front  to  the  park.  I  did  not  want  this 
land  or  any  portion  of  it,  for  my  own  purposes  or  profit,  and  I  offered  a  thou- 
sand dollars  to  any  one  who  would  take  my  place  in  the  transaction  ;  but  no  one 
accepted,  and  I  was  quite  willing  to  contribute  so  much  of  the  land  as  was  needed 
for  so  noble  an  object.  Indeed,  besides  this,  I  gave  $1,400  towards  purchasing 
other  land  and  improving  the  park  ;  and.  after  months  of  persistent  and  pei-sonaJ 


276  SEA-SIDE   PARK. 

effort,  1  succeeded  in  raising,  by  private  subscription,  the  sum  necessary  to 
secure  the  land  needed.  This  was  duly  paid  for,  deeded  to,  and  accepted  by  the 
city,  and  I  had  the  pleasure  of  naming  this  new  and  great  public  improvement, 
4 '  Sea-side  Park. "  . 

Public  journals  are  generally  exponents  of  public  opinion  ;  and  how  the  people 
viewed  the  new  purchase,  now  their  own  property,  may  be  judged  by  the  fol- 
lowing extracts  from  the  leading  local  newspapers,  when  the  land  for  the  new 
enterprise  was  finally  secured  : 

OUR  SKA-SIDE  PARK. 
[From  the  "Bridgeport  Standard,"  August  21,  1865.] 

Bridgeport  has  taken  another  broad  stride  of  which  she  may  well  be  proud.  The  Sea- 
Bide  Park  is  a  fixed  fact.  Yesterday  Messrs.  P.  T.  B;irnum,  Captain  John  Brooks,  Mr. 
George  Bailey,  Captain  Burr  Knapp,  and  Henry  Wheeler  generously  donated  to  this  city 
sufficient  land  for  the  Park,  with  the  exception  of  seven  or  eight  acres,  which  have  been 
purchased  by  private  subscriptions.  Last  night  the  Common  Council  appointed  excellent 
Park  Commissioners,  and  work  on  the  tea-wall  and  the  avenues  surrounding  the  Park  will 
be  commenced  at  once.  Besides  securing  the  most  lovely  location  for  a  park  to  be  found 
between  New  York  and  Boston,  which  for  all  time  will  be  a  source  of  pride  to  our  city  and 
State,  there  is  no  estimating  the  pecuniary  advantage  which  this  great  improvement  will 
eventually  prove  to  our  citizens.  Plans  are  on  foot  and  enterprises  are  agitated  in  regard 
to  a  park  hotel,  sea-side  cottages,  horse  raijroad  branch,  and  other  features,  which,  when 
consummated,  will  serve  to  amaze  our  citizens  to  think  that  such  a  delightful  sea-side 
frontage  had  been  permitted  to  lie  so  long  unimproved.  To  Mr.  P.  T.  Barnum,  we  believe, 
is  awarded  the  credit  of  originating  this  beautiful  improvement,  and  certainly  to  his  untir- 
ing, constant  and  persevering  personal  efforts  are  we  indebted  for  its  being  finally  consum- 
mated. Hon.  James  C.  Loomis  was  the  first  man  who  heartily  joined  with  Baruum  in 
pressing  the  plan  of  the  sea-side  park  upon  the  attention  of  our  citizens,  but  it  is  due  to 
our  citizens  themselves  to  say  that,  with  an  extraordinary  unanimity,  they  have  not  only 
voted  to  appropriate  810,000  from  the  city  treasury  to  making  the  avenues  around  the  Park, 
and  otherwise  improving  it,  but  they  have  also  generously  aided  by  private  contributions 
in  purchasing  such  land  as  was  not  freely  given  for  the  Park. 

Thus  was  my  long-cherished  plan  at  length  fulfilled ;  nor  did  my  efforts  end 
Here,  for  I  aided  and  advised  in  all  important  matters  in  the  laying  out  and  pro- 
gress of  the  new  park  ;  and  in  July,  1869,  I  gave  to  the  city  several  acres  of  land, 
worth,  at  the  lowest  valuation,  $5,000,  which  were  added  to  and  included  in  this 
public  pleasure-ground,  and  now  make  the  west  end  of  the  park. 

At  the  beginning,  the  park  on  paper  and  the  park  hi  reality,  were  two  quite 
different  things.  The  inaccessibility  of  the  site  was  remedied  by  approaches 
which  permitted  the  hundreds  of  workmen  to  begin  to  grade  the  grounds,  and  to 
lay  out  the  walks  and  drives.  The  rocks  and  boulders  over  which  I  had  more 
than  once  attempted  to  make  my  way  on  foot  and  on  horseback,  were  devoted  to 
the  building  of  a  substantial  sea-wall,  under  the  able  superintendence  of  Mr. 
David  TV.  Sherwood.  Paths  were  opened,  shade-trees  were  planted ;  and  for- 
tunately there  was,  in  the  very  center  of  the  ground,  a  beautiful  grove  of  full 
growth,  which  is  one  of  the  most  attractive  features  of  this  now  charming  spot ; 
and  a  broad  and  magnificent  drive  follows  the  curves  of  the  shore  and  encircles 
the  entire  park.  A  large  covered  music-stand  has  been  erected  ;  and  on  a  rising 
piece  of  ground  has  been  built  a  substantial  Soldiers'  Monument. 

The  branch  horse  railroad  already  reaches  one  of  the  main  entrances,  and 
brings  down  crowds  of  people  every  day  and  evening,  and  especially  on  the 
evenings  in  which  the  band  plays.  At  such  times  the  avenues  are  not  only 
thronged  with  superb  equipages  and  crowds  of  people,  but  the  whole  harbor  is 
alive  with  row-boats,  sail-boats  and  yachts.  The  views  on  all  sides  are  Charming. 
In  the  rear  is  the  city,  with  its  roofs  and  spires  ;  Black  Rock  and  Stafford  light* 


SEA-SIDE    PARK.  277 

are  in  plain  sight ;  to  the  eastward  and  southward  stretches  "  Old  Long  Island's 
sea-girt  shore  ; "  and  between  lies  the  broad  expanse  of  the  salt  water,  with  its 
ever  "  fresh  "  breezes,  and  the  perpetual  panorama  of  sails  and  steamers.  I  do  not 
believe  that  a  million  dollars,  to-day,  would  compensate  the  city  of  Bridgeport 
for  the  loss  of  what  is  confessed  to  be  the  most  delightful  public  pleasure-ground 
between  New  York  and  Boston. 


CHAPTER  XLV1 

WALDEMERE.* 

WHEN  I  first  selected  Bridgeport  as  a  permanent  residence  for  my  family,  its 
nearness  to  New  York,  and  the  facilities  for  daily  transit  to  and  from  the 
metropolis  were  present  and  partial  considerations  only  in  the  general  advantages 
the  location  seemed  to  offer.  Nowhere,  in  all  my  travels  in  America  and  abroad, 
had  I  seen  a  city  whose  very  position  presented  so  many  and  varied  attractions. 
Situated  on  Long  Island  Sound,  with  that  vast  water-view  in  front,  and  on  every 
other  side  a  beautiful  and  fertile  country  with  every  variety  of  inland  scenery, 
and  charming  drives  which  led  through  valleys  rich  with  well-cultivated  farms, 
and  over  hills  thick-wooded  with  far-stretching  forests  of  primeval  growth — all 
these  natural  attractions  appeared  to  me  only  so  many  aids  to  the  advancement 
the  beautiful  and  busy  city  might  attain,  if  public  spirit,  enterprise  and  money 
grasped  and  improved  the  opportunities  the  locality  itself,  extended.  I  saw  that 
what  Nature  had  so  freely  lavished  must  be  supplemented  by  yet  nlore  liberal 
Art. 

Consequently,  and  quite  naturally,  when  I  projected  and  established  my  first 
residence  in  Bridgeport,  I  was  exceedingly  desirous  that  all  the  surroundings  of 
Iranistan  should  accord  with  the  beauty  and  completeness  of  that  place.  I  was 
never  a  victim  to  that  r"anm  which  possesses  many  men  of  even  moderate  means 
to  "  own  everything  tkat  joins  them,"  and  I  knew  that  Iranistan  would  so  increase 
the  value  of  surrounding  property  that  none  but  first-class  residences  would  be 
possible  in  the  vicinity.  But  there  was  other  work  to  do,  which,  while  affording 
advantageous  approaches  to  my  property,  would  at  the  same  time  be  a  lasting 
benefit  to  the  public ;  and  so  I  opened  Iranistan  Avenue,  and  other  broad  and 
beautiful  streets,  through  land  which  I  freely  purchased,  and  as  freely  gave  to 
the  public,  and  these  highways  are  now  the  most  convenient  as  well  as  charming 
in  the  city. 

To  have  opened  all  these  new  avenues,  in  their  entire  length,  at  my  own  cost, 
and  through  my  own  ground,  would  have  required  a  confirmation  of  Miss  Lavi- 
nia  Warren's  opinion,  that  what  little  of  the  city  of  Bridgeport  and  the  adjacent 
town  of  Fairfield  was  not  owned  by  General  Tom  Thumb,  belonged  to  P.  T. 
Barnum.  Everywhere  through  my  own  lands  I  laid  out  and  threw  open  public 
streets,  and  on  both  sides  of  every  avenue  I  laid  out  and  planted  a  profusion  of 
elms  and  other  trees.  In  this  way,  I  have  opened  miles  of  new  streets,  and  have 
planted  thousands  of  shade-trees  in  Bridgeport;  for  I  think  there  is  much  wisdom 
in  the  advice  of  the  Laird  of  Dumbiedikes,  in  Scott's  "  Heart  of  Mid-Lothian,"  who 
sensibly  says :  "  When  ye  hae  naething  else  to  do,  ye  may  be  aye  sticking  in  a 
tree ;  it  will  be  growing  when  ye're  sleeping."  But,  in  establishing  new  streets, 
too  often,  when  I  had  gone  through  my  own  land,  the  project  came  literally  to  an 
end ;  some  "old  fogy"  blocked  the  way — my  way,  his  own  way,  and  the  high- 
way— and  all  I  could  do  would  be  to  jump  over  his  field,  and  continue  my  new 

*  See  Illustration,  page  288. 


WALDEMERE.  ^'l:, 

street  through  land  I  might  own  on  the  other  side,  till  I  reached  the  desired  termi- 
nus in  the  end  or  continuation  of  some  other  street ;  or  till,  unhappily,  I  came 
to  a  dead  stand-still  at  the  ground  of  some  other  "old  fogy,"  who,  like  the 
original  owners  of  what  is  now  the  shore-front  of  Sea-side  Park,  "  did  not  believe 
there  was  money  to  be  made  by  giving  away  their  property." 

Conservatism  may  be  a  good  thing  in  the  State,  or  in  the  church,  but  it  is  fatal 
to  the  growth  of  cities ;  and  the  conservative  notions  of  old  fogies  make  them 
indifferent  to  the  requirements  which  a  very  few  years  in  the  future  will  compel, 
and  blind  to  their  own  best  interests.  Such  men  never  look  beyond  the  length  of 
their  noses,  and  consider  every  investment  a  dead  loss  unless  they  can  get  the 
sixpence  profit  into  tiwir  pockets  before  they  go  to  bed.  My  own  long  training 
and  experience  as  a  manager  impelled  me  to  cany  into  such  private  enterprises 
as  the  purchase  of  real  estate  that  best  and  most  essential  managerial  quality  of 
instantly  deciding,  not  only  whether  a  venture  was  worth  undertaking,  but  what, 
all  things  considered,  that  venture  would  result  in.  Almost  any  man  can  see 
how  a  thing  will  begin,  but  not  every  man  is  gifted  with  the  foresight  to  see  how 
it  will  end,  or  how,  with  the  proper  effort,  it  may  be  made  to  end.  In  East 
Bridgeport,  where  we  had  no  "conservatives"  to  contend  with,  we  were  only  a 
few  years  in  turning  almost  tenantless  farms  into  a  populous  and  prosperous  city. 
On  the  other  side  of  the  river,  while  the  opening  of  new  avenues,  the  planting  of 
shade-trees,  and  the  building  of  many  houses,  have  afforded  me  the  highest  pleas- 
ures of  my  life,  I  confess  that  not  a  few  of  my  greatest  annoyances  have  been 
occasioned  by  the  opposition  of  those  who  seem  to  be  content  to  simply  vegetate 
through  their  existence,  and  who  looked  upon  me  as  a  restless,  reckless  innovator, 
because  I  was  trying  to  remove  the  moss  from  everything  around  them,  and  even 
from  their  own  eyes. . 

In  the  summer  of  1867,  the  health  of  my  wife  continuing  to  decline,  her  physi- 
cian directed  that  she  should  remove  nearer  to  the  sea-shore. 

Lindencroft  was  sold  July  1, 1867,  and  we  immediately  removed  for  a  summer's 
sojourn  to  a  small  farm-house  adjoining  Sea-side  Park.  During  the  hot  days  of 
the  next  three  months  we  found  the  delightful  sea-breeze  so  bracing  and  refresh- 
ing that  the  season  passed  like  a  happy  dream,  and  we  resolved  that  our  future 
summers  should  be  spent  on  the  very  shore  of  Long  Island  Sound.  I  did  not, 
however,  perfect  my  arrangements  in  time  to  prepare  my  own  summer  residence 
for  the  ensuing  season ;  and  during  the  hot  months  of  1868,  we  resided  in  a  new 
and  very  pretty  house  I  had  just  completed  on  State  street,  in  Bridgeport,  and 
which  I  subsequently  sold,  as  I  intended  doing  when  I  built  it.  But,  towards  the 
end  of  the  summer,  I  added  by  purchase  to  the  Mallett  farm,  adjoining  Sea-side 
Park,  a  large  and  beautiful  hickory  grove,  which  seemed  to  be  all  that  was 
needed  to  make  the  site  exactly  what  I  desired  for  a  summer  residence. 

But  there  was  a  vast  deal  to  do  in  grading  and  preparing  the  ground,  in  open- 
ing new  streets  and  avenues  as  approaches  to  the  property,  and  in  setting  out 
trees  near  the  proposed  site  of  the  house;  so  that  ground  was  not  broken  for  the 
foundation  till  October.  I  planned  a  house  which  should  combine  the  greatest 
convenience  with  the  highest  comfort,  keeping  in  mind  always  that  houses  are 
made  to  live  in  as  well  as  to  look  at,  and  to  be  "  homes  "  rather  than  mere  resi- 
dences. So  the  house  was  made  to  include  abundant  room  for  guests,  with 
dressing-rooms  and  baths  to  every  chamber ;  water  from  the  city  throughout  the 
premises ;  gas,  manufactured  on  my  own  ground  ;  and  that  greatest  of  all  com- 
forts, a  semi-detached  kitchen,  so  that  the  smell  as  weU  as  the  sec/ets  of  the 
cuisine  might  be  confined  to  its  own  locality.  The  stables  and  gardens  were 


280  WALDEMERE. 

located  far  from  the  mansion,  on  the  opposite  side  of  one  of  the  newly  opened 
avenues,  so  that  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  house,  on  either  side  and  before 
both  fronts,  stretched  large  lawns,  broken  only  by  the  grove,  single  shade-trees, 
rock-work,  walks,  flower-beds  and  drives.  The  whole  scheme  as  planned  was 
faithfully  carried  out  in  less  than  eight  months.  The  first  foundation  stone  was 
laid  in  October,  1868 ;  and  we  moved  into  the  completed  house  in  June  following, 
in  1809. 

It  required  a  regiment  of  faithful  laborers  and  mechanics,  and  a  very  consider- 
able expenditure  of  money,  to  accomplish  so  much  in  so  short  a  space  of  time. 
Those  who  saw  a  comparatively  barren  waste  thus  suddenly  converted  to  a  bloom- 
ing garden,  and,  by  the  successful  transplanting  and  judicious  placing  of  very 
large  and  full-grown  forest  trees,  made  to  seem  like  a  long-settled  place,  considered 
the  creation  of  my  new  summer  home  almost  a  work  of  magic ,  but  there  is  no 
magic  when  determination  and  dollars  combine  to  achieve  a  work.  When  we 
moved  into  this  new  residence,  we  formally  christened  the  place  ''"Waldemere," 
literally,  but  not  so  euphoniously,  "Waldammeer,"  "Woods-by-the-Sea,"for  I 
preferred  to  give  this  native  child  of  my  own  conception  an  American  name  of 
my  own  creation. 

On  the  same  estate,  and  fronting  the  new  avenue  I  opened  between  my  own 
property  and  the  public  park,  I  built  at  the  same  time  two  beautiful  cottages,  one 
of  which  is  known  as  the  "Petrel's  Nest,"  and  the  other,  occupied  by  my  eldest 
daughter,  Mrs.  Thompson,  and  my  youngest  daughter,  Mrs.  Seeley,  as  a  summer 
residence,  is  called  "  Wave  wood."  From  the  east  front  of  Waldemere,  across  the 
sloping  lawn,  and  through  the  reaches  of  the  grove,  these  cottages  are  in  sight, 
and  before  the  three  residences  stretches  the  broad  Sound,  with  nothing  to  cut 
off  the  view,  and  nothing  intervening  but  the  western  portion  of  Sea-side  Park. 

Having  made  up  my  mind  to  spend  seven  months  of  every  year  in  the  city,  in 
the  summer  of  1867, 1  purchased  the  elegant  and  most  eligibly  situated  mansion, 
No.  438,  Fifth  Avenue,  corner  of  Thirty-ninth  street,  at  the  crowning  point  erf 
Murray  Hill,  in  New  York,  and  moved  into  it  in  November. 


CHAPTER    XLVII. 

REST   ONLY   FOUND    IN   ACTION. 

AFTEB  the  destruction  by  fire  of  my  Museum,  March  3d,  1868,  I  retired  from 
business,  not  knowing  how  utterly  fruitless  it  is  to  attempt  to  chain  down  energies 
peculiar  to  my  nature.  No  man  not  similarly  situated  can  imagine  the  ennui 
which  seizes  such  a  nature  after  it  has  lain  dormant  for  a  few  months.  Having 
"nothing  to  do,"  I  thought  at  first  was  a  very  pleasant,  as  it  was  to  me  an  entirely 
new  sensation. 

"  I  would  like  to  call  on  you  in  the  summer,  if  you  have  any  leisure,  in  Bridge- 
port," said  an  old  friend. 

"  I  am  a  man  of  leisure  and  thankful  that  I  have  nothing  to  do;  so  you  cannot 
call  amiss,"  I  replied  with  an  immense  degree  of  self-satisfaction. 

"  Where  is  your  office  down-town  when  you  live  in  New  York  I"  asked  another 
friend. 

"I  have  no  office,"  I  proudly  replied.  "I  have  done  work  enough,  and  shall 
play  the  rest  of  my  life.  I  don't  go  down-town  once  a  week;  but  I  ride  in  the 
Park  every  day,  and  am  at  home  much  of  my  time." 

I  am  afraid  that  I  chuckled  often,  when  I  saw  rich  merchants  and  bankers 
driving  to  their  offices  on  a  stormy  morning,  while  I,  looking  complacently  from 
the  window  of  my  cozy  library,  said  to  myself,  "  Let  it  snow  and  blow,  there's 
nothing  to  call  me  out  to-day."    But  nature  will  assert  herself.    Reading  is  pleas- 
ant as  a  pastime;  writing  without  any  special  purpose  soon  tires;  a  game  of  chess 
will  answer  as  a  condiment;  lectures,  concerts,  operas,  and  dinner  parties  are 
well  enough  in  their  way ;  but  to  a  robust,  healthy  man  of  forty  years'  active 
business  life,  something  else  is  needed  to  satisfy.    Sometimes  like  the  truant 
school-boy  I  found  all  my  frieuds  engaged,  and  I  had  no  play-mate.    I  began  to 
fill  my  house  with  visitors,  and  yet  frequently  we  spent  evenings  quite  alone. 
Without  really  perceiving  what  the  matter  was,  time  hung  on  my  hands,  and  I 
was  ready  to  lecture  gratuitously  for  every  charitable  cause  that  I  could  benefit. 
At  this  juncture  I  hailed  with  delight  a  visit  from  my  friend  Pish  (the  enterpris- 
ing Englishman  of  chapter  thirty-second)  and  his  daughter,  who  came  to  see  the 
new  world,  and  found  me  just  in  the  humor  to  act  as  guide  and  exhibitor.    I 
now  resumed  my  old  business  and  became  a  showman  of  "natural  curiosities  " 
on  a  most  magnificent  scale:  and,  having  congenial  and  appreciative  traveling 
companions,  and  no  business  distractions,  I  saw  beauty  and  grandeur  in  scenes 
which  I  had  before  gazed  on  unimpressed.     For  the  third  time  I  visited  Cuba, 
then  New  Orleans,  Memphis,  Louisville,  Cincinnati,  Baltimore  and  Washington, 
noting  and  enjoying  the  emotions  of  my  English  friends.    The  awe  with  which 
they  gazed  on  the  great  cataract  of  Niagara ;  their  horror  at  seeing  slaves  driven 
to  work  with  whips  in  the  plantations  of  Cuba,  the  tearful  silence  of  the  young 
English  lady  as  she  gazed  down  into  the  beautiful  valley  of  the  Yumurri,  the 
disgust  of  my  friend  when  he  found  Castle  Thunder  not  a  great  fort  as  he  had 
imagined,  but  a  tobacco  warehouse,  all  made  scenes  interesting  that  were  old 
to  me. 

281 


BEST   ONLY    FOUND   IN   ACTION. 

In  April  we  made  up  a  small,  congenial  party  of  ladies  and  gentlemen,  ana 
visited  California  via  the  Union  and  Central  Pacific  Railroads. 

We  journeyed  leisurely,  and  I  lectured  in  Council  Bluffs,  Omaha  and  Salt  Lake 
City,  where  amongst  my  audience  were  a  dozen  or  so  of  Brigliam  Young's  wives 
and  scores  of  his  children.  By  invitation,  t  called  with  my  friends  on  President 
Young  at  the  Bee-Hive.  He  received  us  very  cordially,  asked  us  many  questions, 
and  promptly  answered  ours 

"  Barnum,"  said  he,  "  what  will  you  give  to  exhibit  me  in  New  York  and  the 
eastern  cities?" 

"  Well,  Mr.  President,"  I  replied,  "I'll  give  you  half  the  receipts,  which  I  will 
guarantee  shall  be  $200,000  per  year,  for  I  consider  you  the  best  show  in  America.  '• 

"  Why  did  you  not  secure  me  some  years  ago  when  I  was  of  no  consequence  ?" 
he  continued. 

"  Because,  you  would  not  have  '  drawn '  at  that  time,"  I  answered. 

Brigham  smiled  and  said,  "  I  would  like  right  well  to  spend  a  few  hours  with 
you,  if  you  could  come  when  I  am  disengaged."  I  thanked  him,  and  told  him  I 
guessed  I  should  enjoy  it;  but  visitors  were  crowding  into  his  reception-room,  and 
we  withdrew. 

During  the  week  we  spent  in  seeing  San  Francisco  and  its  suburbs,  I  discovered 
a  dwarf  more  diminutive  than  General  Tom  Thumb  was  when  first  I  found  him. 
and  so  handsome,  well-formed  and  captivating  that  I  could  not  resist  the  tempta- 
tion to  engage  him.  I  gave  him  the  soubriquet  of  Admiral  Dot,  dressed  him  in 
complete  Admiral's  uniform,  and  invited  the  editors  of  the  San  Francisco  journals 
to  visit  him  in  the  parlors  of  the  Cosmopolitan  Hotel. 

Immediately  there  was  an  immense  furore,  and  Woodward's  Gardens,  where 
"  Dot "  was  exhibited  for  three  weeks  before  going  east,  was  daily  thronged  with 
crowds  of  his  curious  fellow  citizens,  under  whose  very  eyes  he  had  lived  so 
long  undiscovered. 

Speaking  of  dwarfs,  it  may  be  mentioned  here,  that,  notwithstanding  my 
announced  retirement  from  public  life,  I  still  retained  business  connections  with 
my  old  friend,  the  well-known  General  Tom  Thumb.  In  1869,  I  joined  that  cele- 
brated dwarf  in  a  fresh  enterprise  which  proposed  an  exhibition  tour  of  him  and 
a  party  of  twelve,  with  a  complete  outfit,  including  a  pair  of  ponies  and  a  car- 
riage, entirely  around  the  world. 

This  party  was  made  up  of  General  Tom  Thumb  and  his  wife  (formerly  Lavinia 
Warren),  Commodore  Nutt  and  his  brother  Rodnia,  Miss  Minnie  Warren,  Mr. 
Sylvester  Bleeker  and  his  wife,  and  Mr.  B.  S.  Kellogg,  besides  an  advertising 
agent  and  musicians.  Mr.  Bleeker  was  the  manager,  and  Mr.  Kellogg  acted  as 
treasurer.  In  the  Fall  of  1869,  this  little  company  went  by  the  Union  Pacific 
Railway  to  San  Francisco,  stopping  on  the  way  to  give  exhibitions  at  Omaha, 
Denver,  Salt  Lake  City,  and  other  places  on  the  route,  with  great  success. 

After  a  prolonged  and  most  profitable  series  of  exhibitions  in  San  Francisco, 
the  company  visited  several  leading  towns  in  California  and  then  started  for 
Australia.  On  the  way  they  stopped  at  the  Sandwich  Islands  and  exhibited  in 
Honolulu.  From  there  they  went  to  Japan,  exhibiting  in  Yeddo,  Yokohama  and 
other  principal  places,  and  afterwards  at  Canton  and  elsewhere  in  China.  They 
next  made  the  entire  tour  of  Australia,  drawing  immense  houses  at  Sydney, 
MeH>oume,  and  in  other  towns,  but  they  did  not  go  to  New  Zealand.  They  then 
proceeded  to  the  East  Indies,  giving  exhibitions  in  the  larger  towns  and  cities, 
receiving  marked  attentions  from  Rajahs  and  other  distinguished  personages. 
Afterwards  they  went  by  the  way  of  the  Suez  Canal  to  Egypt,  and  gave  theii 


REST  ONLY   FOUND   IN   ACTION.  283 

entertainments  at  Cairo;  and  thence  to  Italy,  exhibiting  at  all  available  points, 
and  arrived  in  Great  Britain  in  the  summer  of  18TL 

While  I  am  about  it,  I  may  as  well  confess  my  connection,  sub  rosa,  with  another 
little  speculation  during  my  three  years'  "leisure."  I  hired  the  well-known 
Siamese  Twins,  the  giantess,  Anna  Swan,  and  a  Circassian  lady,  and,  in  connec- 
tion with  Judge  Ingalls,  I  sent  them  to  Great  Britain  where,  in  all  the  principal 
places,  and  for  about  a  year,  their  levees  were  continually  crowded.  In  all 
probability  the  great  success  attending  this  enterprise  was  much  enhanced,  if  not 
actually  caused,  by  extensive  announcements  in  advance,  that  the  main  purpose 
of  Chang-Bug's  visit  to  Europe  was  to  consult  the  most  eminent  medical  and 
surgical  talent  with  regard  to  the  safety  of  separating  the  twins. 

We  spent  some  time  in  the  Yo  Semite  ;  stopping  by  the  way  at  the  Mariposa 
grove  of  big  trees,  whence  I  sent  to  New  York  a  piece  of  bark  thirty-one  niches 
thick. 

Concluding  a  most  enjoyable  trip,  we  returned  to  New  York,  and  first  of  June 
my  family  removed  to  our  summer  home,  Waldemere.  There  the  good  and 
gifted  Alice  Gary,  then  in  feeble  health,  and  her  sister  Phoebe,  were  our  guests 
for  several  weeks. 

In  September,  I  made  up  a  party  of  ten,  including  my  English  friend,  and  we 
started  for  Kansas  on  a  grand  buffalo  hunt.  General  Custer,  commandant  at 
Fort  Hayes,  was  apprized  in  advance  of  our  anticipated  visit,  and  he  received  us 
like  princes.  He  fitted  out  a  company  of  fifty  cavalry,  furnishing  us  with  horses, 
arms  and  ammunition.  We  were  taken  to  an  immense  herd  of  buffaloes,  quietly 
browsing  on  the  open  plain.  We  charged  on  them,  and,  during  an  exciting  chase 
of  a  couple  of  hours,  we  slew  twenty  immense  bull  buffaloes,  and  might  have 
killed  as  many  more  had  we  not  considered  it  wanton  butchery. 

Our  ten  day's  sport  afforded  me  a  "sensation,"  but  sensations  cannot  be  ma/le 
to  order  every  day,  so,  in  the  autumn  of  1870,  to  open  a  safety-valve  for  my 
pent-up  energies,  I  began  to  prepare  a  great  show  enterprise,  comprising  a  Mu- 
seum, Menagerie,  Caravan,  Hippodrome  and  Circus,  of  such  proportions  as  to 
require  five  hundred  men  and  horses  to  transport  it  through  the  country.  On  the 
tenth  of  April,  1871,  the  vast  tents,  covering  nearly  three  acres  of  ground,  were 
opened  in  Brooklyn,  and  filled  with  ten  thousand  delighted  spectators,  thousands 
more  being  unable  to  obtain  entrance.  The  success  which  marked  the  inaugura- 
tion of  this,  my  greatest  show,  attended  it  the  whole  season,  during  which  time 
it  visited  the  Eastern,  Middle  and  Western  States  from  Maine  to  Kansas. 

At  the  close  of  a  brilliant  season,  I  recalled  the  show  to  New  York,  secured 
the  Empire  Rink,  and  opened  in  that  building  November  13, 1871,  being*welcomed 
by  an  enthusiastic  audience  of  ten  thousand  people.  The  exhibitions  were  con- 
tinued daily,  with  unvarying  popularity  and  patronage,  until  the  close  of  the 
holidays,  when  necessary  preparations  for  the  spring  campaign  compelled  me  to 
close.  One  of  the  most  interesting  curiosities  added  at  that  time,  was  a  gigantic 
section  of  a  California  "big  tree,"  of  such  proportions  that  on  one  occasion,  at 
the  Empire  Rink,  it  enclosed  two  hundred  children  of  the  Howard  Mission.  This 
section  I  afterwards  presented  to  Frank  Leslie,  who  had  it  mounted  and  roofed 
to  form  a  summer-house  on  his  Saratoga  estate,  where  it  now  stands,  a  unique 
ornament  and  attraction. 

During  the  winter  of  1871  and  1872,  I  worked  unremittingly,  re-organizing  and 
re-enforcing  my  great  traveling  show.  To  the  horror  of  my  very  able  but  too 
cautious  manager,  Mr.  W.  C.  Coup,  and  my  treasurer,  Mr.  Hurd,  I  so  augmented 


284  REST  ONLY   FOUND   IN    ACTION. 

the  already  innumerable  attractions,  that  it  was  shown  beyond  doubt,  that  we 
could  not  travel  at  a  less  expense  than  five  thousand  dollars  per  day,  but, 
undaunted,  I  still  expended  thousands  of  dollars,  and  ship  after  ship  brought  me 
rare  and  valuable  animals  and  works  of  art.  Two  beautiful  Giraffes  or  Camel- 
opards,  were  dispatched  to  me  (one  died  on  the  Atlantic),  and  a  third  was 
retained  for  me  at  the  Zoological  Gardens,  London,  ready  to  be  shipped  at  a 
moment's  notice.  As  no  giraffe  has  ever  lived  two  years  in  America,  all  other 
managers  had  given  up  any  attempt  to  import  them,  but  this  only  made  me  more 
determined  to  always  have  one  on  hand  at  whatever  cost. 

My  agents  in  Alaska  procured  for  me  several  immense  sea-lions  and  barking- 
seals,  which  weighed  a  thousand  pounds  each,  and  consumed  from  sixty  to  a 
hundred  pounds  of  fish  daily. 

My  novelties  comprised  an  Italian  goat  "Alexis,"  taught  in  Europe  to  ride  on 
horseback,  leap  through  hoops  and  over  banners,  alighting  on  his  feet  on  the  back 
of  the  horse  while  going  at  full  speed.  I  had  also  many  extraordinary  musical 
and  other  automatons  and  moving  tableaux,  made  expressly  for  me  by  expert 
European  artists. 

But  perhaps  the  most  striking  additions  to  my  show  were  four  wild  Fiji  Canni- 
bals, ransomed  at  great  cost  from  the  hands  of  a  royal  enemy,  into  whose  hands 
they  had  fallen,  and  by  whom  they  were  about  to  be  killed  and  perhaps  eaten. 

The  following  happy  hit  is  from  the  pen-  of  Rev.  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  as  it 
appeared  in  that  excellent  paper  of  which  he  was  editor,  the  New  York  Christian 
Union  of  February  28th,  1872: 

"Should  not  a  paternal  government  set  some  limit  to  the  enterprise  of  Brother  Barn  am, 
with  reference,  at  least,  to  the  considerations  of  public  safety  T  Here  upon  our  desk,  lie* 
an  indication  of  his  last  perilous  venture.  He  invites  us  '  and  one  friend ' — no  conditions 
as  to^condition '  specified— to  a  private  exhibition  of  four  living  cannibals,  which  he  has 
obtained  from  the  Fiji  Islands,  for  his  traveling  show.  We  have  beaten  up.  in  this  office, 
among  the  lean  and  tough,  and  those  most  easily  spared  in  an  emergency,  for  volunteers  to 
visit  the  Anthropophagi,  and  report ;  but  never  has  the  retiring  and  self-distrustful  dispo- 
sition of  our  employees  been  more  signally  displayed.  The  establishment  was  not  represented 
at  that  exposition.  If  Barnum  had  remembered  to  specify  the  '  feeding-time,'  we  might 
have  dropped  in,  in  a  friendly  way,  at  some  other  period  of  the  day." 

Perceiving  that  my  great  combination  was  assuming  such  proportions  that  it 
would  be  impossible  to  move  it  by  horse  power,  I  negotiated  with  all  the  railway 
companies  between  New  York  and  Omaha,  Nebraska,  for  the  transportation  by 
rail,  of  my  whole  show,  requiring  sixty  to  seventy  freight  cars,  six  passenger 
cars,  and  three  engines.  The  result  is  well  remembered.  The  great  show  visited 
the  States  of  New  Jersey,  Delaware,  Maryland,  Pennsylvania,  District  of  Colum- 
bia, Virginia^  Ohio,  Tnriiana,  Kentucky,  Illinois,  Missouri,  Kansas,  Iowa,  Minne- 
sota, Wisconsin  and  Michigan,  often  traveling  one  hundred  miles  in  a  single  night 
to  hit  good-sized  towns  every  day,  arriving  in  time  to  give  three  exhibitions,  and 
the  usual  street  pageant  at  eight  o'clock,  A,  M.  By  means  of  cheap  excursion 
trains,  thousands  of  strangers  attended  daily,  coming  fifty,  seventy-five  and  a 
hundred  miles.  Thousands  more  came  in  wagons  and  on  horseback,  frequently 
arriving  in  the  night  and  "  camping  out"  The  tenting  season  closed  at  Detroit, 
October  30th,  when  we  were  patronized  by  the  largest  concourse  of  people  ever 
assembled  in  the  State  of  Michigan. 

With  wonderful  unanimity  the  public  press  acknowledged  that  I  exhibited 
much  more  than  I  advertised,  and  that  no  combination  of  exhibitions  that  ever 
traveled  had  shown  a  tithe  of  the  instructive  and  amusing  novelties  that  I  had 
gathered  together.  This  universal  commendation  is,  to  me,  the  most  gratifying 
feature  of  the  campaign,  for,  not  being  compelled  to  do  business  merely  for  the 


BEST  ONLY   FOUND   IN  ACTION.  285 

take  of  profit,  my  highest  enjoyment  is  to  delight  my  patrons.  The  entire  six 
months'  receipts  of  the  Great  Traveling  World's  Fair,  amounted  to  nearly  one 
million  dollars. 

When  not  with  the  company,  I  spent  most  of  my  time  at  my  ideal  home, 
Waldemere,  which  I  enlarged  and  beautified  at  a  cost  of  ninety  thousand  dollars, 
There  I  had  the  honor  and  pleasure  of  entertaining  Horace  Greeley,  my  life-long 
friend,  and  of  arranging  for  him  those  simple,  healthful  country  amusements,  so 
grateful  and  refreshing  to  a  care-worn  politician. 

In  October,  I  visited  Colorado,  accompanied  by  my  English  friend,  John  Fish, 
and  a  Bridgeport  gentleman  who  had  an  interest  with  me  in  a  stock-raising 
ranche  in  the  southern  part  of  that  Territory.  We  took  the  Kansas  Pacific  Rail- 
road to  Denver,  seeing  many  thousands  of  wild  buffalo — our  train  sometimes 
being  stopped  to  let  them  pass.  The  weather  was  delightful.  We  spent  several 
days  in  the  new  and  flourishing  town  of  Greeley.  I  gave  a  temperance  lecture 
there;  also  at  Denver.  At  the  latter  city,  hi  the  course  of  my  remarks,  I  told 
them  I  never  saw  so  many  disappointed  people  as  at  Denver.  The  large  audience 
looked  surprised,  but  were  relieved  when  I  added,  "  half  the  inhabitants  came 
invalids  from  the  east,  expecting  to  die,  and  they  find  they  cannot  do  it.  Your 
charming  climate  will  not  permit  it ! "  And  it  is  a  fact.  I  am  charmed  with 
Colorado,  the  scenery  and  delightful  air,  and  particularly  would  I  recommend  as 
a  place  of  residence  to  those  who  can  afford  it,  the  lively,  thriving  city  of  Den- 
ver. To  those  who  have  some  capital  and  yet  have  their  fortunes  to  make,  I 
say,  "go  to  Greeley." 

We  took  the  narrow  gauge  road  from  Denver  to  Pueblo,  stopping  at  Colorado 
Springs,  and  the  "Garden  of  the  gods."  The  novel  scenery  here  amply  paid  us 
for  our  visit.  From  Pueblo  I  proceeded  forty  miles  by  carriage  to  our  cattle 
ranche,  and  spent  a  couple  of  days  there  very  pleasantly.  We  have  several 
thousand  head  of  cattle  there,  which  thrive  through  the  winter  without  hay  or 
fodder  of  any  kind.  A  railroad  has  just  been  opened  from  Pueblo  to  Trinidad 
which  passes  through  a  corner  of  my  ranche. 

At  the  close  in  Detroit  of  the  great  Western  railroad  tour,  I  equipped  and 
started  South  a  Museum,  Menagerie  and  Circus,  which,  while  it  made  no  per- 
ceptible diminution  in  the  main  body,  was  still  the  largest  and  most  complete 
traveling  expedition  ever  seen  in  the  Southern  States.  Louisville  was  designated 
as  the  rendezvous  and  point  of  consolidation  of  the  various  departments,  and  the 
new  expedition  gave  its  initial  exhibition  hi  the  Falls  City,  November  4.  Much 
of  the  menagerie  consisted  of  animals  of  which  I  owned  the  duplicate,  and  henc« 
could  easily  spare  them  without  injuring  the  variety  in  my  zoological  collection 
I  was  aware,  also,  that  many  of  the  rare  specimens  would  thrive  better  in  a 
warmer  climate,  and  as  the  expense  of  procuring  them  had  been  enormous,  1 
coupled  my  humanitarian  feelings  with  my  pecuniary  interests,  and  sent  them 
South. 

In  August,  I  purchased  the  building  and  lease  on  Fourteenth  street,  New  York, 
known  as  the  Hippotheafcron,  purposing  to  open  a  Museum,  Menagerie,  Hippo- 
drome and  Circus,  that  would  furnish  employment  for  two  hundred  of  my  people 
who  would  otherwise  be  idle  during  the  winter.  I  enlarged  and  remodeled  the 
building  almost  beyond  recognition,  at  an  expense  of  $60,000,  installed  in  it  my 
valuable  collection  of  animals,  automatons  and  living  curiosities,  and  on  Monday 
evening,  November  18,  the  grand  opening  took  place.  It  was  a  beautiful  sight; 
the  huge  building,  with  a  seating  capacity  of  2,800,  filled  from  pit  to  dome  with 
a  brilliant  audience,  the  dazzling  new  lights,  the  sweet  music  and  gorgeous  orna- 


286  BEST  ONLY   FOUND   IN  ACTION. 

mentations  completing  the  charm.    The  papers  next  morning  contained  long  and 
eulogistic  editorials. 

Four  weeks  after  this  inauguration,  I  visited  my  Southern  show  at  New  Orleans. 
While  seated  at  breakfast  at  the  St.  Louis  Hotel  and  perusing  an  account  of  the 
flooding  of  my  show-grounds  in  that  city,  the  following  telegram  was  handed  me: 

NEW  YOBK,  December  24. 
To  P.  T.  Bamum,  New  Orleans ; 

About  4  A.  M.  fire  discovered  in  boiler-room  of  circus  building ;  everything  destroyed 
except  2  elephants,  1  camel. 

S.  H.  HURD,  Treasurer. 

The  smaller  misfortune  was  instantly  forgotten  in  the  greater.  Calling  for 
writing  material,  I  then  and  there  cabled  my  European  agents  to  send  duplicates 
of  all  animals  lost,  with  positive  instructions  to  have  everything  shipped  in  time 
to  reach  New  York  by  the  middle  of  March.  I  directed  them  further  to  procure 
at  any  cost  specimens  never  seen  in  America;  and  through  sub-agents  to  purchase 
and  forward  curiosities — animate  and  ina.TiiTnn.tfl — from  all  parts  of  the  globe. 
I  then  dispatched  the  following  to  my  son-in-law: 

NBW  ORLEANS.  December  24. 
To  S.  H.  Hurd,  New  York : 

Tell  editors  I  have  cabled  European  agents  to  expend  half  million  dollars  for  extra 
attractions ;  will  have  new  and  more  attractive  show  than  ever  early  in  April. 

P.  T.  BARNUM. 

These  details  attended  to,  I  resumed  my  breakfast,  and  took  a  calm  view  of  the 
situation. 

Returning  to  New  York,  I  learned  that  my  loss  on  building  and  property 
amoimted  to  nearly  $300,000,  to  meet  which  I  held  insurance  policies  to  the 
amount  of  $90,000.  My  equestrian  company,  in  which  I  took  great  pride,  was 
left  idle  until  the  opening  of  the  summer  season.  The  members  lost  their  entire 
wardrobes,  a  loss  which  can  only  be  appreciated  by  professionals.  The  Eques- 
trian Benevolent  Society  kindly  gave  them  a  benefit  at  the  Academy  of  Music, 
on  the  afternoon  and  evening  of  January  7, 1873.  Many  stars  in  the  Equestrian, 
Dramatic  and  Musical  firmament  volunteered  for  the  occasion,  and  the  two 
entertainments  were  largely  attended.  Being  called  upon  to  "  define  my  posi 
tion,"  I  stepped  upon  the  stage  and  made  a  few  off-hand  remarks,  which  were 
reported  in  the  morning  papers  as  follows: 

LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  :  I  have  catered  for  so  many  years  for  the  amusement  of  the 
public  that  the  beneficiaries  on  this  occasion  seem  to  have  thought  that  the  showman 
himself  ought  to  be  a  part  of  the  show  ;  and,  at  their  request,  I  come  before  yon.  I  sincerely 
thank  you,  in  their  behalf,  for  your  patronage  on  this  occasion.  How  much  they  need  your 
substantial  sympathy  .the  ashes  across  the  street  can  tell  you  more  eloquently  than  human 
tongue  could  utter.  Those  ashes  are  the  remnants  of  "  all  the  worldly  goods  "  of  some  who 
appeal  to  you  to-day. 

For  myself,  I  have  been  burned  out  so  often,  I  am  like  the  singer  who  was  hissed  on 
the  stage:  "  Hiss  away,"  said  he,  "  I  am  used  to  it."  My  pecuniary  loss  is  very  serious. 
and  occurring,  as  it  did.  just  before  the  holidays,  it  is  all  the  more  disastrous. 

It  may,  perhaps,  gratify  my  friends  to  know,  however,  that  I  am  still  enabled  to  invest 
another  half  million  of  dollars  without  disturbing  my  bank  account.  The  public  will  have 
amusements,  and  they  ought  to  be  those  of  an  elevating  and  an  unobjectionable  character. 
For  many  years  it  has  been  my  pleasure  to  provide  a  class  of  instructive  and  amusing  enter- 
tainments, to  which  a  refined  Christian  mother  can  take  her  children  with  satisfaction. 

I  believe  that  no  other  man  in  America  possesses  the  desire  and  facilities  which  I  have  in 
this  direction.  I  have,  therefore,  taken  steps,  through  all  my  agents  in  Europe  and  this 
country,  which  will  enable  me  to  put  upon  the  road,  early  in  April,  the  most  gigantic  and 
complete  traveling  museum,  menagerie  and  hippodrome  ever  organized. 

It  has  been  asked  whether  I  will  build  up  a  large  museum  and  menagerie  in  New  York. 
Well,  I  am  now  nearly  sixty-three  years  of  age.  I  can  buy  plenty  of  building  sites  and  get 
plenty  of  leased  lots  for  a  new  museum ;  but  I  cannot  get  a  new  lease  of  life. 


REST   ONLY    FOUND    IN    ACTION.  '^ ' 

Younger  members  of  my  family  desire  me  to  erect  in  this  city  an  establishment  worthy 
of  New  York  and  of  myself.  It  will  be  no  small  undertaking  ;  for  if  I  erect  such  an  estab- 
lishment, it  will  possess  novel  and  costly  features  never  before  attempted.  I  have  it  under 
consideration,  and  within  a  month  shall  determine  whether  or  not  I  shall  make  another 
attempt ;  of  one  thing,  however,  you  may  be  assured,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  although  confla- 
grations may,  for  the  present,  disconcert  my  plans,  yet,  while  I  have  life  and  health,  no  fire 
can  burn  nor  water  quench  my  ambition  to  gratify  my  patrons  at  whatever  cost  of  money  or 
of  effort.  I  shall  never  lend  my  name  where  my  labors  and  heart  do  not  go  with  it,  and  the 
public  shall  never  fail  to  find  at  any  of  my  exhibitions  their  money's  worth  ten  times  told. 

Before  the  new  year  dawned,  I  received  tidings  that  my  agents  had  purchased 
for  me  a  full  collection  of  animals  and  curiosities,  and  by  the  first  week  in  April, 
1873 — but  three  short  months  after  thfe  fire — I  placed  upon  the  road  a  combination 
of  curiosities  and  marvellous  performances  that  by  far  surpassed  any  attempt  ever  • 
made  with  a  traveling  exhibition  in  any  country.  Indeed,  so  wonderfully  im- 
mense was  "  Barnum's  Traveling  World's  Fair  "  in  1873,  that  its  expenses  greatly 
exceeded  five  thousand  dollars  per  day,  and  my  friends  almost  unanimously 
declared  that  it  would  "break"  me.  I  suppose  there  is  a  limit  beyond  which  it 
would  be  fatal  to  go,  in  catering  for  public  instruction  and  amusement,  but  I 
have  never  yet  found  that  limit.  My  experience  is  that  the  more  and  the  better 
a  manager  will  provide  for  the  public,  the  more  liberally  they  will  respond.  The 
season  of  1873  was  far  from  being  an  exception  to  this  experience.  My  tents 
covered  double  the  space  of  ground  that  I  had  ever  required  before,  and  yet  they 
were  never  so  closely  crowded  with  visitors.  Where  thousands  attended  my 
show  in  1872,  numbers  of  thousands  came  in  1873.  It  visited  the  largest  cities  in  ^ 
Connecticut,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Vermont, 
and  the  Middle  and  Western  States,  as  far  as  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  taking  Canada  on 
the  return  route  to  New  York. 

While  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  a  little  incident  occurred  which  was  described  as 
follows  by  one  of  the  Cleveland  papers: 

A  PRIVATE  SHOW  TO  A  SICK  BOY-A  PLEASANT  EPISODE. 

Mr.  P.  T.  Barnum's  ambition  to  give  the  public  a  better  show  than  any  one  else  can  give 
them  for  the  same  money  is  well  known,  though  very  few  are  aware  of  the  great  pleasure 
he  takes  in.  providing  amusement  for  little  children.  An  incident  happening  in  our  city  yes- 
terday illustrated  this  characteristic  very  strikingly.  There  is  a  little  five-year-old  invalid 
up  town  who  has  become  quite  a  favorite  with  the-great  showman,  who  never  fails  to  visit 
him  in  passing  through  Cleveland.  Yesterday  morning  the  little  fellow  heard  the  door  bell 
rin<;,  and  his  face  lit  up  with  joy  as  Mr.  Barnnm  entered  the  sick-room.  The  usual  pleasant 
greetings  ensued,  and  the  great  manager  threw  his  soul  into  the  work  of  entertaining  the 
child  as  completely  as  when  surrounded  by  thousands  he  talks  in  his  great  show.  Thechild 
was  delighted,  but  the  shadow  which  is  always  as  near  joy  as  the  thorn  is  to  the  rose,  stole 
over  the  little  "Trot's"  face  on  reflecting  that  he  could  not  see  the  menagerie.  "Never 
mind."  said  Mr.  Itanium,  "  if  yon  cannot  go  to  the  show,  we  must  bring  the  show  to  you." 
So  Maying,  he  departed,  and  a  h;ilf  hour  later  the  child  and  the  whole  family  were  astonished 
to  see  a  drove  of  elephants,  camel*  and  dromedaries  marched  in  to  the  yard,  and  come  to  a  halt 
near  the  child's  window.  The  little  one  was  held  up  where  he  could  see  the  animals,  and 
their  keeper  made  them  go  through  a  regular  performance.  •'  Trot  "  gave  his  orders  to  the 
unwieldy  elephants,  and,  by  a  sign  from  the  keeper,  they  were  all  obeyed.  In  half  an  hour 
the  matinee  terminated,  and  the  detachment  of  the  procession  marched  back  to  the  show- 
grounds, leaving  the  child  wild  with  delight.  Mr.  Barnum's  love  for  the  little  ones  lias 
been  frequently  shown  by  the  generous  invitations  he  everywhere  extends  to  orphans  to 
attend  his  exhibitions  free  of  charge ;  but  this  effort  to  please  a  little  child  is  a  unique 
illustration  of  that  characteristic. 

Notwithstanding  my  frequent  visits  to  the  "traveling  show,"  I  managed  to 
spend  much  of  the  summer  at  my  delightful  "  Waldemere." 

In  September,  of  1873,  as  I  had  not  visited  Europe  since  1869, 1  concluded  to 
run  over  and  see  the  International  Exhibition  at  Vienna,  and  visit  other  parts  of 
Europe,  to  rest  my  over-worked  brain,  and  see  what  could  be  picked  up  to 
instruct  and  edify  my  amusement  patrons. 


BEST  ONLY   FOUND  IN  ACTION. 

On  landing  at  Liverpool,  I  was  met  by  my  old  friend,  John  Fish,  Esq.,  the 
"enterprising  Englishman."  Mr.  Fish  was  the  last  friend  who  shook  my  hand 
as  I  left  Liverpool  in  1859,  and  the  first  to  grasp  it  as  I  landed  in  1873.  After 
spending  a  few  days  at  his  house,  in  Southport,  the  "  Montpelier  of  England,"  a 
delightful  watering-place  eighteen  miles  from  Liverpool,  I  proceeded  to  London. 
I  met  many  of  my  old  English  friends  here,  including,  of  course,  my  esteemed 
friend  and  faithful  agent,  Robert  Fillingham,  Esq.,  and  then  hastened  on  to 
Cologne,  Leipsic,  Dresden,  and  Vienna,  which  latter  city  I  reached  ten  days 
before  the  closing  of  the  great  World's  Fair.  Those  ten  days  I  devoted  most 
assiduously  to  studying  the  marvels  of  this  great  World's  Exhibition,  and  I 
t  witnessed  the  ceremonies  which  terminated  what  is  generally  conceded  to  be  the 
largest  and  best  International  Exhibition  that  the  world  ever  saw.  I  proceeded 
leisurely  back  to  Dresden,  stopping  at  Prague  on  the  way.  Thence  I  went  to 
Berlin,  and,  at  each  city,  I  took  time  to  see  all  that  was  interesting.  While  at 
Berlin,  I  received  letters  from  my  Manager,  Coup,  and  Treasurer,  Hurd,  saying 
they  would  be  able  to  secure  a  short  lease  of  the  Harlem  Railroad  property  hi 
New  York,  bounded  by  Fourth  and  Madison  avenues  and  Twenty-sixth  anu 
Twenty-seventh  streets,  containing  several  acres,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out 
my  long-cherished  plan  of  exhibiting  a  Roman  Hippodrome,  Zoological  Institute, 
Aquaria,  and  Museum  of  unsurpassable  extent  and  magnificence.  I  immediately 
telegraphed  them  to  take  the  lease,  and  within  twenty-four  hours  from  that  time 
I  was  in  telegraphic  communication  with  seventeen  European  cities  where  I  knew 
were  the  proper  parties  to  aid  me  in  carrying  out  a  grand  and  novel  enterprise. 

I  visited  all  the  zoological  gardens,  circuses,  and  public  exhibitions,  wherever  I 
went,  and  thus  secured  numerous  novelties  and  obtained  new  and  valuable  ideas. 

At  Hamburg,  I  purchased  nearly  a  ship-load  of  valuable  wild  animals  and  rare 
birds,  including  elephants,  giraffes,  a  dozen  ostriches,  &c.,  &c. 

I  had  concluded  all  my  purchases  in  Hamburg  on  the  eighteenth  of  November, 
1873,  and  was  taking  a  few  last  looks  around  the  city  previous  to  starting  for 
Italy,  when,  on  the  twentieth  inst.,  I  received  from  my  son-in-law,  Mr.  Hurd,  a 
telegraphic  despatch  announcing  the  death  of  my  wife  on  the  day  previous. 

It  is  difficult  for  those  who  have  not  had  the  sad  experience,  to  imagine  the 
degree  of  anguish  which  overwhelms  one,  when  called  to  part  with  a  beloved 
companion  with  whom  he  has  lived  forty-four  years.  That  anguish  must  be 
greatly  enhanced  when  such  a  death  comes  sudden  and  unexpected.  But  when 
the  intelligence  is  not  only  unlocked  for,  but  as,  in  my  case,  it  finds  the  sorrowing 
husband  four  thousand  miles  away  from  the  bedside  of  his  dead  wife,  alone,  in  a 
strange  land,  where  his  native  tongue  is  not  spoken:  when  he  reflects  that  children, 
grandchildren  and  other  kindred  are  mourning  over  the  coffin  where  he  is  needed, 
and  vrhere  his  poor  stricken  heart  is  breaking  to  be,  the  utter  loneliness  of  that 
mourner  cannot  be  truly  comprehended.  Long  accustomed  as  I  have  been  to  feel 
that  God  is  good,  and  that  His  ways  are  always  right,  that  He  overcometh  evil 
with  good,  and  chastens  us  "for  our  profit,"  I  confess  the  "cloud"  seemed  so 
utterly  black  that  it  was  hard  to  realize  it  could  have  a  silver  "  lining; "  and  my 
tongue  ceased  to  move  when  I  attempted  to  say,  as  surely  we  all  ought  unhesi- 
tatingly at  all  times  to  say,  "Not  my  will,  but  Thine  be  done."  I  remained  in 
my  room  for  several  days,  and  on  that  Saturday,  on  which  I  felt  confident  my 
children  and  friends  were  accompanying  her  remains  to  our  beautiful  Mountain 
Grove  Cemetery,  my  lonely  head  was  bowed,  and  my  tears  flowed  in  unison 
with  theirs,  while  I  implored  our  dear  Father  to  give  them  strength  to  bear  their 
loss  and  to  sanctify  her  death  to  the  benefit  of  us  all. 


P.  T.  BARNUM'S  WIFE,  CHARITY, 

AT  THE  AGE  OF  65.  See  page  289. 


REST  ONLY   FOUND  IN  ACTION. 


289 


She  died  at  our  New  York  residence,  surrounded  by  children  and  Mends,  who 
had  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  she  passed  away  without  pain. 
The  Bridgeport  Standard  gave  the  following  account  of  the  funeral  services: 

Toe  remains  of  Mrs.  P.  T.  Barnmn  were  brought  to  this  city,  upon  the  10.12  express  this 
morning,  and  were  taken  to  Waldemere,  where  the  funeral  services  were  held  this  after- 
noou.  The  house  was  filled  with  the  relatives  and  Iriends  of  the  deceased,  to  render  th' 
last  sad  tribute  of  affection  and  respect,  among  whom  were  many  of  our  most  prominent 
citizens  and  their  families,  and  a  number  of  the  clargy  of  the  city.  The  remains,  which  had 
been  embalmed  in  New  York,  in  accordance  with  a  request  received  by  telegram  from  Mr. 
Barnnm,  who  is  at  Hamburgh,  were  enclosed  In  an  elegant  rosewood  casket,  and  placed  in 
*he  east  parlor  at  Waldemere.  The  casket  was  covered  with  crowns  and  crosses,  and 
wreaths  of  white  roses,  beautifully  arranged.  At  the  head  of  the  casket  was  a  large  cross 
of  evergreens,  with  the  word  "  Mother  "in  white  roses,  across  the  arms,  and  at  the  base, 
"  Charity,"  also  in  white  roses.  The  funeral  services  were  conducted  by  Rev.  Abel  C. 
Thomas,  of  Philadelphia.  He  also  made  a  few  short  remarks  upon  the  past  life  of  the 
deceased,  and  addressed  comforting  words  to  the  mourning  friends.  After  a  closing  prayer 
the  doxology— "  Praise  God  from  whom  all  blessings  flow,"  was  sung  by  all  present,  after 
which  an  opportunity  was  given  to  view  the  remains.  The  funeral  procession  then  wended 
its  sorrowful  way  "  from  Waldemere  and  the  sound  of  many  waters  to  the  quiet  of  Moun- 
tain Grove."  The  remains  were  then  placed  in  the  public  receiving  vault  until  the  return 
of  Mr.  Barnnm  from  Europe. 

After  this  sad  blow  I  could  not  bear  the  thought  of  "sight-seeing,"  and  1 
yearned  to  be  where  I  could  meet  sympathizing  friends  and  hear  my  native 
tongue.  I  therefore  returned  to  London  and  s^ent  several  weeks  in  quiet 


CHAPTER  XLVII1. 

AMONG    MY   FRIENDS   AND   NEIGHBORS. 

AT  length,  the  continual  letters  from  my  manager  roused  me  to  action,  and  1 
went  at  it  with  a  wilL  What  I  did  is  shown  in  the  following  extract  from  the 
London  Era: 

BARNUM'S  NEXT  SENSATION. 

The  greatest  showman  of  the  day  Is  once  more  in  London,  completing  preparations  for  the 
opening  of  the  immense  Hippodrome  which  he  is  erecting  in  New  York.  Some  idea  of  the 
means  which  are  being  taken  to  create  a  sensation  maybe  derived  from  the  following  facts: 
Mr.  Barnnm  has  not  only  sent  agents  to  Spain  and  Africa  to  secure  attractions,  but  has  liini- 
gelf  visited  the  Hippodrome  in  Paris,  the  Circus  Renzat  Vienna,  Myers'  Circus  at  Dresden, 
Salamonski  and  Carre's  Circus  at  Cologne,  the  Zoological  Gardens  at  Hamburgh,  Amster- 
dam and  other  Continental  cities,  selecting  and  purchasing  the  choicest  animals  procurable, 
and  engaging  the  most  talented  artists.  He  has  secured  what  may  fairly  be  called  an  endless 
variety  of  attractions,  ranging  from  a  race-horse  to  a  Roman  chariot.  With  the  Messrs. 
Sanger  alone  he  has  done  business  to  "the  tune"  of  £11,000.  He  has  already  shipped  to 
New  York  elephants,  camels  and  horses,  trained  for  every  species  of  Circus  performance. 
On  tbe  25th  a  further  '•  batch  "  will  be  dispatched,  including  sixteen  ostriches,  ten  elands, 
ten  zebras,  a  team  of  reindeer,  with  Lapland  drivers,  a  troupe  of  performing  ponies,  monkeys, 
dogs,  goats,  &c.,  &c.  The  armor  and  costume  makers  of  London  are  to  be  set  to  work 
immediately  the  pantomines  are  off  their  minds  and  hands,  and  some  portion  of  the  para- 
phernalia which  is  to  contribute  to  the  gigantic  whole  will  be  shipped  weekly.  The 
Hippodrome  will  open  in  April  next,  and  in  the  preliminary  parade,  we  liave  no  doubt,  the 
citizens  will  find  reason  to  say  that  their  greatest  and  most  popular  showman  has  far 
outstripped  all  his  former  efforts.  We  may  iidd  that  the  New  York  enterprise  will  in  no 
way  interfere  with  the  famous  tent  show  everywhere  known  as  "  Barnum's  Great  Museum. 
Menagerie,  Circus  and  Traveling  World's  Fair." 

Ten  days  afterwards  the  London  Times,  whose  editor  had  seen  the  original 
contract,  published  the  following  article: 

A  THEATRICAL  CONTRACT. 

Mr.  P.  T.  Barnnm.  who  is  now  in  this  country,  has  just  entered  into  a  contract  with  Messrs. 
Sanger,  of  Astley's  Amphitheatre,  for  the  purchase  of  the  whole  of  the  plant,  wardrobe, 
and  paraphernalia  connected  with  the  pageant  of  the  "  Congress  of  Monarchs '"  exhibited 
at  the  Agricultural  Hall  four  or  five  years'since.  The  contract  is  as  follows  . 

"  This  agreement  made  at  the  City  of  London,  January  2d,  1674,  between  Messrs.  John 
and  George  Sanger,  of  the  said  city  of  London,  Eng.,  and  P.  T.  Barnum,  of  New  York, 
United  States  of  America,  witnesseth,  that  for  the  sum  of  £33,000*  sterling,  the  said  Messrs. 
J.  and  G.  Sanger  agree  to  complete  and  deliver  to  the  said  P.  T.  Barnuni,  duplicates  of  all 
the  chariots,  costumes,  trappings,  flags,  banners,  and  other  paraphernalia  used  by  the  said 
J.  and  G.  Sanger  in  the  production  of  the  great  pageant  representing  the  Congress  of  Mon- 
archs. Every  article  thus  furnished  by  the  said  Messrs.  John  and  George  Sanger  shall  be 
new.  and  of  the  same  quality  and  style  used  by  them  aforesaid.  This  collection  embraces 
13  gorgeous  carved  and  gilt  emblazoned  chariots,  and  appropriate  harness  for  lt>2  horses  : 
1.136  elegant  and  appropriate  suits  of  armor,  court  dresses,  &c..  to  faithfully  represent  all 
the  principal  Monarchs  and  Courts  in  the  world,  and  &fac  simile  of  all  the  flags,  banners, 
and  everything  else  used  in  this  pageant,  except  the  horses,  elephants,  ostriches,  giraffes, 
camels,  and  other  living  animals.  These  the  said  Mr.  P.  T.  Barnum  will  provide  for  him- 
self. The  arms  of  all  nations  represented  on  that  occasion  shall  also  be  delivered  to  the 
said  P.  T.  Barnum.  The  whole  to  be  completed  and  delivered  to  the  said  P.  T.  Barnum  or 
his  agent,  in  London  by  February  22d,  1874.  The  said  P.  T.  Barnum  hereby  agrees  to  pay 
the  said  £33,000  to  the  said  .Messrs.  J.  and  G.  Sanger  for  the  make  and  perfect  delivery  of  the 
articles  hereby  agreed  upon— £13,000  to  be  paid  upon  the  signing  of  the  contract,  and  the 
remaining  £20,000  on  the  22d  day  of  February  next,  or  upon  the  earlier  completion  of  the 

*  Independent  of  £11,000  worth  before  purchased  of  Messrs.  Sanger. 

Ji'JO 


AMONG   MY  FRIENDS  AND  NEIGHBORS.  291 

contract  by  the  said  Messrs.  John  and  George  Sanger.    Property  to  be  delivered  to  Mr. 
Robert  Fiilingham,  the  said  P.  T.  Barnum's  agent,  and  to  be  approved  by  him." 

This  document  was  signed  on  Tuesday,  and  the  £13,000  paid.  Messrs.  Sanger  will  hava 
on  view  at  their  Royal  National  Amphitheatre  the  costumes  they  are  about  to  provide  Mr 
Barnum. 

Already  had  we  leased  from  the  Harlem  Railroad  Company  a  plot  of  land  in 
the  center  of  New  York  valued  at  over  a  million  of  dollars,  and  on  that  land  we 
were  to  erect  buildings  which  would  probably  cost  two  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

Curiosity  impelled  me  to  attend  the  Tichborne  trial  one  day.  I  was  told  it 
would  be  useless  to  attempt  it,  as  none  were  admitted  without  a  court  order.  I, 
however,  applied  at  the  door  of  Westminster  Hall,  where  a  great  crowd  was 
waiting  unable  to  get  in.  In  reply  to  my  request  to  be  admitted,  a  policeman 
asked  if  I  had  an  order  from  the  court.  Upon  my  answering  in  the  negative  he 
remarked:  "Even  if  you  had,  you  could  not  get  in  to-day,  for  every  inch  of 
room  is  occupied ;  but  in  no  case  can  you  ever  get  in  without  an  order  from  the 
court." 

I  asked  for  the  inspector  who  had  charge  of  the  police.  Inspector  Doming  was 
pointed  out  to  me,  and  I  handed  him  my  card. 

"Are  you  the  great  American  Museum  man?"  he  asked. 

"  Y.es,"  I  replied;  I  am  the  Museum  man,  the  Tom  Thumb  man,  the  Jenny 
Land  man,  and  the  Showman." 

"  My  dear  sir,"  said  the  inspector,  "  I  am  glad  to  see  you.  Please  write  your 
name  on  the  back  of  your  card  and  I  shall  always  prize  it  as  a  souvenir.  I  am 
very  happy  that  I  can  show  the  celebrated  showman  something  he  never  saw 
before." 

He  then  led  me  into  Westminster  Hall,  secured  me  a  good  seat,  pointed  out  the 
"  claimant,"  Lord  Chief  Justice  Cockburn,  Justices  Weller  and  Lush,  Dr.  Kenealy, 
Mr.  Hawkins,  and  other  prominent  personages. 

I  arrived  in  New  York  from  Liverpool  by  the  steamer  Scotia,  April  30,  1874, 
rejoiced  to  reach  my  native  land  again,  and  delighted  to  find  my  children  and 
grandchildren  in  good  health.  The  great  Roman  Hippodrome  had  been  open 
about  a  week,  and  on  the  evening  of  my  arrival  I  was  called  out  by  the  audience 
and  was  driven  in  my  carriage  around  the  immense  arena  and  saw  what,  to  me, 
was  indeed  a  great  "show"— the  largest  assemblage  of  people  ever  gathered  in 
one  building  in  New  York.  I  may  be  permitted  to  add,  that  my  enthusiastic 
reception  was  at  once  a  testimonial  of  the  public  appreciation  of  one  of  my 
greatest  efforts  in  my  managerial  career,  and  a  verdict  that  it  was  a  complete 
and  gratifying  success. 

This  truly  stupendous  and  superb  spectacle,  as  the  unanimous  voice  of  the  press 
pronounced  it,  opened  every  evening  with  an  allegorical  representation  of  a 
"  Congress  of  Nations,"  in  a  grand  procession  of  gilded  chariots  and  triumphal 
cars,  conveying  the  Kings,  Queens,  Emperors,  and  other  potentates  of  the 
civilized  world,  costumed  with  historical  correctness,  royally  surrounded,  and 
accompanied  and  followed  by  their  respective  courts  and  splended  retinues.  The 
correctness  and  completeness  of  this  historical  representation  required  nearly 
one  thousand  persons  and  several  hundred  horses,  besides  elephants,  camels, 
llamas,  ostriches,  etc.  The  rich  and  varied  costumes,  armor  and  trappings,  the 
gorgeous  banners  and  paraphernalia,  and  the  appropriate  music  accompanying 
the  entrance  of  each  nation  produced  an  effect  at  once  brilliant  and  l>ewildering. 
The  entire  public,  and  the  press,  both  secular  and  religious,  declared  unanimous!  v, 
what  is  unquestionably  true— that  never  before  since  the  days  of  the  Ca*ars  has 
there  been  so  grand  and  so  interesting  a  public  spectacle. 


292 


AMONG    MY    FRIENDS   AND    NEIGHBORS. 


Following  this  superb  historical  introduction  were  all  kinds  of  races  by  high- 
bred horses  imported  by  scores  from  Europe  and  ridden  and  driven  by  accom- 
plished experts  of  both  sexes.  To  these  succeeded  various  first-class  entertain- 
ments, including  the  wonderful  performances  of  the  Japanese  athletes,  thrilling 
wire-walking  exploits,  athletic  sports  by  non-professionals  for  prizes  awarded  as 
encouragements  to  such  enterprises,  semi-weekly  balloon  ascensions  by  Prof. 
Donaldson,  the  whole  interspersed  with  a  plenty  of  genuine  fun  in  the  monkey 
and  donkey  races,  and  in  "  Twenty  minutes  of  the  Donnybrook  Fair  and  Lan- 
cashire Races  " — and  with  all  was  "thrown  in "  my  magnificent  menagerie. 

Although  the  Hippodrome  could  accommodate  ten  thousand  spectators,  for 
weeks  in  succession  all  the  best  seats  were  engaged  days  in  advance,  and  it  is 
literally  true  that  at  every  evening  performance  thousands  were  turned  away. 
My  patrons  included  the  President  of  the  United  States  and  his  Cabinet,  Gov- 
ernors and  Judges,  the  Clergy  of  all  denominations,  and  all  the  best  people  of 
our  land,  who  expressed  but  one  opinion,  that  the  exhibition,  as  I  intended  it 
should  be,  far  surpassed  the  most  sanguine  expectations  of  what  managerial 
experience  and  endeavor  could  possibly  accomplish.  In  the  very  midst  of  such 
success,  the  necessity  of  covering  the  central  part  of  the  Hippodrome  with  glass, 
putting  in  heating  apparatus,  and  otherwise  preparing  the  immense  building  for 
the  winter  campaign,  compelled  me  to  temporarily  transfer  the  entire  vast  estab- 
lishment to  Boston  for  three  weeks  from  August  3d,  thence  to  Philadelphia, 
returning  and  reopening  in  New  York  about  September  20th, 

^fter  the  exciting  scenes  and  unremitting  labor  of  several  weeks  in  New  York, 
I  retired  to  Waldemere  for  rest.  No  sooner  had  I  arrived  at  Bridgeport  than  a 
newspaper  paragraph  announced  to  me  that  my  friends  and  neighbors  had 
determined  to  tender  to  me  a  public  dinner.  Flattering  as  this  testimonial  was, 
my  first  impulse  was  to  express  my  gratitude  for  the  tendered  compliment,  but 
by  no  means  to  accept  it  But  my  mere  arrival  had  already  been  the  occasion 
of  a  spontaneous  and  enthusiastic  welcome,  which  a  large  number  wished  to  make 
more  formal  and  complete,  so  that  the  proposed  tender  of  a  dinner  remained 
inevitable,  and  the  following  correspondence  ensued : 

BRIDGEPORT,  JitllC  6,  1874. 

To  HON.  P.  T.  BABNUM  : 

Dear  Sir :  As  a  mark  of  our  esteem  for  your  liberality  and  energy  In  private  enterprise 
and  in  promoting  the  industries  and  public  improvements  of  oar  city,  we  cordially  invite 
you  to  dine  with  us  on  some  early  and  convenient  occasion. 

Yours,  very  truly, 


R.  T.  CLABKE, 

F.  W.  PABBOTT, 

HANPOBD  LYON, 

F.  G.  FOWLEB, 

G.  B.  WALLBB, 

SAML.  B.  SUMNER, 

ALBERT  EAMES, 

H.  S.  SANPOBD, 

GIDEON  THOMPSON, 

W.  11.  NOBLE, 

C.  SPOONER, 

F.  HUBD, 

FRANCIS  IVBS, 

F.  A.  BENHAM, 

ROBERT  HUBBARD, 

ALFRED  HOPKINS, 

JOHK  BROOKS, 

SHELTON  &  LYON, 

N.  WHEELER, 

CABLOS  CURTIS, 

J.  E.  DUNHAM, 

A.  W.  WALLACE, 

JARRATT  MORPOBD, 

J.  &  G.  A  STAPLES, 

IIIA  GREGORY. 

JOHN  D.  CANDEE, 

ELI  THOMPSON, 

KNOWLES  &  Co., 

JAMES  C.  Looms, 

G.  W.  BABKEB, 

GEO.  MALLORY, 

D.  N.  MOBGAN, 

E.  B.  GOODSELL, 

WESSELLS  BROS., 

R.  ToMLINgON, 

JAMES  A.  HOUSE. 

W.  H.  PERRY, 

A.  R.  LAMB, 

CHAS.  B.  HOTCHKISS, 

H.  R.  PARROTT, 

D.  F.  HOLLISTEB, 

M.  H.  WILSON, 

G.  H.  HOJXISTER. 

E.  C.  WILMOT, 

JACOB  KIEFER, 

D.  W.  SHERWOOD, 

W.  R.  HIGBY, 

L.  F.  CURTIS, 

TREAT  &  BULLOCK, 

DAVID  TRUBEE, 

GEO.  C.  WALDO, 

B.  SOULES, 

LEWIS  W.  BOOTH, 

T.  M.  PALMER, 

W.  S.  EDWARDS, 

S.  C.  NICKEBSON, 

P.  HUBBELL, 

SAMUEL  C.  KIN  OMAN, 

JOHN  E.  POND. 

Z.  GOODSELL, 

T.  R.  CRUTTBNBEN, 

JOHN  1).  WHITNEY, 

HUBBELL,JoNES  &  Co. 

CHESTER  RUSSELL, 

\VjI.   li.   SfiKLET. 

J.  W.  SMITH, 

W.  11.  MALLOBY, 

J.  H.  &  J.  N.  BENHAM 

T.  HAWLEY  &  Co  , 

H.  BUCKINGHAM, 

GEO.  W.  BACON, 

WILLIS  <fc  LANE, 

S.  B.  FEEGDSOX. 

E.  BransEV.  :>i>. 

H.  M    HEAD, 

LYDN,  CURTI*  A  Co  , 

W.  H.  ADAMS, 

E.  V.  UAWES  &  SON, 

W.  G.  LLNEBUROH. 

aud  cUiera. 

AMONG  MY   EBIENDS   AND   NEIGHBORS.  293 

WAIJJBMERE,  BRIDGEPORT.  CONK. 

June  6,  1874. 
To  HIB  HONOR.  R.  T.  CLARKE,  MAYOR,  AND  OTHERS  : 

Gentlemen:    It  is  always  pleasaut  to  receiv*  the  approval  of  one's  neighbors     To  be 

tendered  a  public  dinner  by  the  most  prominent  and  substantial  inhabitants  of  a  city  where 

sided  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  is  a  compliment  as  gratifying  as  it  is 

Though  conscious  that  to  my  recent  return  from  abroad  may  be  attributed  your  selection 
of  myself  at  this  time  from  among  other  citizens  who  have  materially  aided  in  "  promoting 
the  industries  and  public  improvements  of  our  city,"  yet  I  cannot  forego  the  pleasure  that! 
always  enjoy  in  social  intercourse  with  friends,  and  therefore  your  invitation  is  gratefully 
accepted.  Any  date  agreeable  to  yourselves,  alter  the  sixteenth  inst.,  will  be  convenient  to 
me. 

Respectfully  yours, 

P.  T.  BARNUM. 

COMPLIMENTARY  DINNER  TO  P.  T.  BARNUM. 

[From  the  Bridgeport  Republican  Standard,  July  3, 1874.] 

The  complimentary  dinner  given  by  the  citizens  of  Bridgeport  to  P.  T.  Barnum,  at  the 
Atlantic  House,  Thursday  evening,  June  25,  was  in  every  respect  a  success,  gratifying  alike 
to  the  guest  in  honor  of  whose  energy,  thrift,  public  spirit  and  genuine  philanthropy  it  was 
given,  and  to  those  who  had  conceived  and  carried  it  out  so  happily.  The  fine  dining-hall 
of  the  Atlantic  House  was  set  with  four  long  tables,  one  across  the  head  of  the  hall,  and 
the  other  three  running  at  right  angles  to  it  and  lengthwise  of  the  room.  At  the  first  were 
seated  the  presiding  officer,  Mayor  Clarke;  the  guest  of  the  evening,  P.  T.  Barnum, Esq., 
and  his  immediate  friends  from  abroad,  with  ex-Mayors  of  Bridgeport  and  other  prominent 
citizens,  while  the  men  of  all  professions  and  callings,  representing  the  wealth,  respecta- 
bility, enterprise  and  energy  of  our  thriving  town  occupied  the  other  tables,  in  all  to  the 
number  of  over  two  hundred.  It  is  seldom  that  any  public  occasion  calls  out  such  a  body 
of  our  townsmen,  and  the  company  was  one  of  which  any  Bridgeporter  might  well  feel 
proud.  Among  the  most  prominent  of  our  older  citizens  present  were  Hanford  Lyon,  Esq., 
Capt.  John  Brooks,  Philo  Eurd  and  Eli  Thompson,  Esqs.:  while  amongst  the  prominent 
ex-city  officials  were  ex-Mayors  E.  B.  Goodsell  and  Jarratt  Morford.  Representatives  from 
nearly  all  the  prominent  New  York  daily  and  weekly  journals  were  also  in  attendance.  The 
tables  were  profusely  adorned  with  beautiful  flowers,  toward  which  nearly  every  large 
garden  and  green-house  in  town  contributed,  and  these  were  tastily  arranged  in  elegant 
vases,  holders  and  stands,  which  displayed  them  to  advantage  and  enhanced  their  beauty. 
Pyramids  of  fruit  and  delicate  confections  mingled  with  the  flowers  and  added  to  the 
appropriate  adornment.  The  bill  of  fare  was  an  elaborate  and  exhaustive  one,  embracing 
all  the  luxuries  of  the  season,  cooked  artistically,  well  served,  and  in  profusion.  The 
Wheeler  &  Wilson  Band,  under  leader  Kosenburg,  furnished  music,  and  was,  as  usual, 
very  fine.  They  played  on  the  balcony  in  front  of  the  hotel  while  the  guests  were  assem- 
bling in  the  parlors,  and  subsequently  enlivened  the  entertainment  with  judiciously  selected 
and  well-played  airs.  Thus  music,  flowers,  fruits,  a  good  dinner  and  a  good  company,  all 
combined  to  make  the  occasion  pleasaut  and  memorable.  The  guests  sat  down  at  the  tables 
at  about  eight  o'clock,  after  grace  by  Rev.  Dr.  Hopper ;  but  it  was  nearly  ten  before  the 
inner  man  had  been  sufficiently  satisfied  with  the  constantly  replenished  supply  of  substan- 
tials  and  delicacies  to  admit  of  the  "  feast  of  reason  and  flow  of  soul "  which  was  to  follow. 
During  the  evening  members  of  the  committee  were  active  in  seeing  that  the  wants  of  guests 
were  supplied,  and  that  nothing  was  left  undone  that  would  contribute  to  the  success  of  the 
occasion.  At  ten  o'clock  His  Honor  Mayor  Clarke  called  for  the  reading  of  the  letters  from 
invited  guests.  Mr.  G.  C.  Waldo,  of  the  committee,  read  letters  from  several  prominent 
gentlemen,  who  were  prevented  from  attending,  but  who  expressed  their  regard  for  the 
recipient  of  the  compliment.  Mr.  Charles  A.  Dana,  of  the  New  York  Sun,  wrote: 

"I  am  not  surprised  that  the  people  of  Bridgeport  should  pay  such  a  compliment  to  so 
public-spirited  a  fellow  citizen." 

Mr.  George  Jones,  of  the  New  York  Times,  wrote: 

"  I  hope  you  will  have  a  glorious  time,  and  I  desire  to  be  considered  IN  when  Mr.  Barnum'a 
health  is  proposed,  and  further  shall  be  glad  to  send  the  following: 
"  P.  T.  Barnum,  '  The  Man  who  cannot  grow  old.'  " 

Rev.  Dr.  Chapin's  letter  concludes : 

Nothing  would  have  given  me  greater  pleasure  tflm  to  have  met  you  and  the  good 
"on  referred  to  ;  but  now,  I  can  only  be  wilh  you  in  spirit 
s  perfectly  consistent  with  a  teetotal  dinner,  and  wish 


I1U     J^ICiHG!      jjicaaui  C     •^•u     L"     "'*>"     IAIVV    jv-ru    «iuu     nuu  gww 

people  of  Bridgeport  on  the  occasion  referred  to  ;  but  now,  I  can  only  be  wilh  you  in  spirit 
—with  the  '  ardent  spirit '  which  is  perfectly  consistent  with  a  teetotal  dinner,  and  wish 
you  all  a  first-rate  time." 

Dr.  Cnyler,  of  Brooklyn,  wrote . 

"  Tell  the  good  people  of  Bridgeport  for  me,  that  the  pleasantest  hours  I  have  spent  In 
their  town  have  been  passed  under  Mr.  Baruum's  hospitable  roof,  and  that  they  deserve  to 


AMONG   MY   FBIENDS    AND    NEIGHBORS. 

uave  noti.e-hearted  citizens  when  they  appreciate  them.  They  cannot  do  too  much  to 
honor  the  public-spirited  man  who  has  done  so  much  for  them.  If  I  were  present  I  should 
propose  in  clear  crystal  water  this  toast:  A  bright  golden  '  Indian  Summer '  of  life  to  our 
guest,  who  has  made  more  children  happy  than  any  American  of  thia  generation.  With  a 
thousand  good  wishes,  yours  most  cordially." 

Gov.  Dix  wrote  regretting  that  he  was  prevented  from  attending  by  his  engagement  tc 
deliver  au  address  to  the  graduating  class  ol  Union  College,  June  24. 

The  following  is  from  Frank  Leslie's  letter : 

"  No  man  living  more  fully  deserves  the  respect  and  confidence  of  all  who  know  him. 
We  have  had  business  and  friendly  relations  dating  back  twenty-five  years,  so  I  speak  '  be- 
cause I  know  the  man.'  Years  ago  I  was  much  impressed  by  the  response  of  an  old  servant 
in  answer  to  an  inquiry  as  to  what  kind  of  person  Mr.  Burnum  was :  '  What  manner  of 
man  is  Mr.  Barnnmf  Why,  just  one  of  the  kindest-hearted,  public-spirited  men  that  lives. 
Money  flows  from  him  like  water,  in  a  just  cause,  and  I  haven't  a  good  enough  name  to 
give  him,'  with  a  burst  of  enthusiasm.  And  so.  sir,  I  can  only  echo  the  words  of  his  old 
servant,  and  say  of  the  man  to  whom  you  do  honor,  that  I  have  not  a  good  enough  name  to 
give  him." 

Mayor  Clarke  then  announced  the  first  regular  sentiment  of  the  evening,  "  Our  Quest," 
and  called  upon  Gen.  William  H.  Noble  to  present  it. 

SPEECH  OP  GEN.  NOBLE. 

"The  words  of  your  invitation  to  our  guest,  while  they  are  your  just  epitome  of  his 
deserts,  are  most  fitting  for  my  test. 

"  Yon  offer  him  this  banquet,  and  your  goodly  presence  to  mark  your  '  esteem  for  his 
liberality  and  energy  in  private  enterprise  and  in  promoting  the  industries  and  public 
improvements  of  our  city.' 

"  This  ia  no  tribute,  then,  to  mere  wealth — your  catalogue  of  merits  gives  no  place  to 
stocks,  or  bonds,  or  princely  homes,  or  his  broad  acres  of  our  city  lots,  stretching  through 
every  district  of  the  corporation.  Such  things  touch  not  the  heart  of  our  esteem.  Why 
should  they?  Wealth  is  a  mere  implement  to  the  soul  that  does  with  it  Besides,  the 
bearing  of  our  friend  has  never  marked  the  sense  of  riches. 

"  Esteem  is  only  due  to  wealth  or  talent  when  administered  as  a  blessing  held  intrust, 
reaching  beyond  ourselves  and  yielding  zest  and  opportunity  to  others.  By  this  standard  1 
ask  the  measurement  of  our  friend. 

"By  private  liberality  and  enterprise,  you  do  not,  of  course,  claim  to  mark  its  ingenious 
and  versatile  display  in  that  old  museum,  store-house  of  curiosities,  instruction,  fun  and 
moral  drama,  a  kaleidoscope  of  shows  and  innocent  amusements;  nor  that  ceaseless  throng 
of  curious  wonders  drawn  from  every  country,  clime  and  race,  to  swell  that  'innumerable 
caravan  '  of  world's  fairs  and  shows  which  circles  through  the  lana ;  nor  will  you  claim,  I 
think,  as  yours  the  newer  spectacle  of  mammoth  hippodrome  which  treats  you  to  a  con- 
gress of  the  nations,  and  a  steeple-chase  '  right  up  Broadway.'  Nor  do  you  intend  to  mark 
that  enterprise  of  his  which,  as  some  return  to  China,  and  Japan,  and  the  far-off  islands  of 
the  sea,  for  contributions  drawn  from  them  to  swell  his  curious  inventory  of  wonders,  he 
sent  to  them  sweet  singers,  Tom  Thumb  and  Nutt,  and  all  that  Liiiputian  troop,  to  play,  in 
their  small  way,  the  '  heathen  Chinee '  and  hari-kari.  But  from  all  these  we  have  had, 
indeed,  through  our  imperial  showman,  substantial  benefit  and  share,  in  concerts,  songs  and 
shows  devoted  to  some  charity  or  other  goodly  work  in  our  midst,  and  from  the  vast  re- 
turns of  all  his  ventures  put  into  the  improvements,  foundations  and  shapeliness  of  our 
city.  The  marks  of  some  of  these  shall  last  through  time,  and  perish  only  with  the  Republic 
and  the  waning  of  the  solid  earth. 

"  And  first,  our  guest,  in  a  life  of  thirty  years  amongst  us,  has,  in  his  homes,  so  adminis- 
tered his  trust,  that  we  have  shared  their  comely  aspects  and  the  grace  and  refinement  of 
their  surroundings.  I  speak  not  of  the  genial  hospitality  and  courtesy  which,  within  his 
threshold,  have  been  the  property  of  every  guest — his  latch-string  was  ever  out  to  them — 
but  of  his  open  gates,  whose  posted  words  invited  all  to  enter  and  enjoy  his  grounds. 

"  Most  ol  us  remember  Irauistan.  that  aerial,  oriental  villa,  whose  domes  and  minarets 
were  for  every  flitting  train  an  attraction,  a  name  and  an  advertisement  for  us  and  him. 

"  It  was  as  original  as  our  friend,  and  was  said  to  duplicate  the  Brighton  Palace  of  George 
the  IV.;  but,  beside  that  squat  thine,  ours  had  wings  and  airy  elevation,  as  unlike  it  as  an 
eagle  to  a  terrapin.  Seen  by  moonlight,  I-anistan  was  like  some  delicate  tracery  of  arch 
and  pinnacle,  photographed  on  the  air,  from  those  fairy  Moslem  gardens  across  the 
Bosphorus.  It  was,  by  his  permission  and  invitation,  our  show-place,  and  our  little  park 
of  twenty  acres,  our  flower-garden  and  pleasure-ground.  His  trees,  and  shrubs,  and 
flower?  were  about  as  much  ours  as  his.  In  fact,  I  believe  that  throng  which  circled 
through  its  drives  and  shades,  in  carriages  and  on  foot,  enjoyed  its  loveliness  In  larger 
measures  than  our  friend.  But  he  had  the  advantage  of  us  in  that  return  which  ever  cornea 
to  reward  a  pleasure  granted  others.  The  cost  of  our  enjoyment,  though  a  heavy  footing 
in  his  books,  was  never  counted  a  loss. 

"  Next  came  Lindencroft,  a  world  too  narrow  for  our  friend— a  kind  of  resting-place  wh'le 
prospecting  round  for  his  new  home  at  Waldemere.  That  is  a  region  discovered  by  himself, 
and  traversed  by  him  and  other  Livingstones  about  1865.  What  a  fit  and  speaking  name, 
this  Waldemere,  child  of  the  woodland  and  the  wave,  how  suited  to  its  aspects  and  stir- 


AMONG    MY    FRIENDS   AND    NEIGHBORS.  295 


lea,  by  his  invitation,  set  down  at  its  gates,  that  means 


to  seek  in  fruitless  quest  those  fabled  waters  whose  reviving  lave  were  said  to  bring  to  aze 
the  vigor  and  the  bloom  of  youth,  to  flre  the  currents  of  the  blood,  and  stay  the  waning 
tides  of  life. 

"  Let  no  man  look  on  such  a  use  of  wealth— the  making  of  one's  home  and  its  surround- 
ings to  minister  to  the  pleasure,  taste  and  instruction  of  his  townsmen  and  fellows— and  tell 
me  that  down  in  the  heart  and  purposes  of  him  who  so  does  and  deals  out  his  store  there 
is  not  gentle  kindness,  refinement  and  grace  of  thought  and  feeling.  Verily,  if  our  Iriend 
hath  sins— and  who  of  us  has  not— such  doing  covers  a  multitude  thereof  There  is  a 
efinemeut  in  flowers,  in  love  of  art  and  nature,  that  follows  the  footsteps  of  their  presence 
He  who  ministers  thereto  fulfills  a  mission  whose  sermons  are  in  the  woodlands  and  the 
rocks,  and  its  songs  in  breezes  and  the  babbling  brooks.  Let  no  man  sneer  at  the  love  of 
flowers  and  fronds,  and  tinge  ot  leaf,  which  God  has  made  and  tinted,  as  too  frivolous  ana 
feminine  to  become  the  toughness  of  manly,  athlete,  mental  fibre.  He  who  derides  them 
knows  not  their  meaning;  such  tastes  mark  culture  and  refinement,  and  diviner  levels 
reached  in  the  ascent  of  our  race.  Prom  behind  the  flower  that  blooms  and  smiles  in  the 
wintry  sunshine  of  some  humble  cottage  window,  there  looks  a  woman's  soul,  beyond  the 
hard  facts  of  life,  toward  that  refinement  and  a  higher  civilization  which  comes  with  and 
follows  that  flower. 

"  But,  as  your  invitation  points  out,  the  doings  of  our  friend  have  been  especially  felt  in 
the  industries  and  public  improvements  of  our  city. 

"One  of  his  first  works  here  was  on  our  'Greenwood.'  Out  on  the  border  of  our  city, 
beside  the  little  stream  which  girts  a  goodly  spread  of  plateau,  woodlands,  dale,  and  shade 
and  rolling  hill,  lies  '  Mountain  Grove?  Our  friend  discovered  its  fitness  for  our  loved  ones' 
last  resting-place,  secured  its  titles,  and  with  that  magnetic  way  of  his  inspired  others  to 
the  purpose  of  its  dedication  to  the  sacred  dead.  After  Greenwood  and  Mount  Auburn,  it 
was  one  of  the  first  well-ordered  and  tastefully  laid  out  cemeteries  in  the  country.  To  this 
graceful  public  improvement  our  friend  added,  from  the  proceeds  of  a  concert  by  Catherine 
Hayes,  its  comely  gateway.  I  here,  too,  pay  just  tribute  to  those  gentlemen  to  whose  care 
and  tasteful  administration  of  its  business  and  improvements  our  cemetery  owes  so  much. 

"  Our  guest  was  in  full  swing  in  his  imperial  campaign  with  Jenny  Lind,  when,  somehow, 
he  and  1  were  brought  to  work  together  in  that  East  Bridgeport,  whose  early,  rapid  growth 
and  solid  foundations  are  due  to  his  liberal  trust  and  out-pour  of  means  for  my  administra- 
tion. I  could  not  have  met  another  man  so  open-handed  and  confiding.  He  found  me  over- 
loaded with  some  seventy  acres,  substantially  projected  and  mapped  'as  now— a  foot-bridge 
built  along  the  railroad  into  its  heart  had  ensured  success,  with  means.  He  brought  these. 
The  whole  of  our  bargnir,  and  work  together  was  an  index  of  the  man.  Of  course  he  knew 
me,  and  of  my  doings— had  seen  my  map  and  advertisement.  He  saw  at  once  how  we  could 
work  together.  Not  half  an  hour  was  spent  in  terms  of  purchase  and  in  putting  them  on 
paper,  before  I  was  on  the  rail  for  Bridgeport  with  $20,000  in  my  pocket  to  buy  more  land 
and  '  push  things.'  He  took  no  deed,  looked  up  no  titles  ;  I  told  him  how  things  were,  he 
found  them  so,  and  ever  has.  My  receipt  for  money,  and  one  little  half  page  of  terms  were 
all  our  writings. 

"  From  that  day  to  the  great  clock  disaster,  it  was  one  continuous  rush  of  streets  and 
grades,  trees,  factories,  dwellings,  churches,  schools.  Washington  Park,  now  worth  $200,000, 
was  laid  out  and  dedicated  to  the  public.  There  was  no  stint  of  money.  His  m«ans,  drawc 
from  concerts,  museum,  Tom  Thumb,  and  all,  were  poured  into  East  Bridgeport.  Had 
Jerome,  and  those  who  abetted  him,  not  crippled  and  tangled  our  friend  in  the  wreck  of 
clocks,  no  one  can  tell,  with  the  powerful  backings  since  cume  among  us,  what  East  Bridge- 
port might  have  become.  Sometimes  success  and  good  come  of  disaster.  That  magnificent 
industry  and  its  swarm  of  kindred  works,  so  ably  engineered  and  allied  by  our  friend  and 
senator  before  me,  Nathaniel  Wheeler,  but  for  this  clock  disaster  would  hardly  have  found 
the  opportunity  so  valuable  for  us  and  all. 

"Throughout  our  work  together,  and  since,  my  old  associate,  in  other  parts  of  the  city, 
has  kept  up  his  tireless  betterment  of  the  situation.  State  street  was  started  westward, 
but  blocked  by  others,  who  would  not  consent  to  that  extension  which  afterwards  they 
craved.  Iranistan  avenue  was  laid  down  by  him  through  a  swamp  and  mud  creek,  where 
tides  (dyked  out  by  him)  flowed  and  old  scows  floated  over  land  to-day  built  on  and  bordered 
with  trees  and  walks.  By  his  push  and  enterprise,  this  avenue  now  stretches  a  mile  of 
splendid  thoroughfare,  and  is  the  western  entrance  to  our  park. 

"  The  last  conspicuous  monument  of  our  friend's  enterprise  is  Sea-side  Park.  Its  fitness 
for  such  use  was,  by  himself  and  other  Livingstones,  discovered  about  the  same  time  as 
Waldemere.  Through  his  exertions,  and  the  enlisted  aid  of  others,  Sea-side  has  been  made 
a  breathing  place  and  pleasure  ground  for  our  people  forever.  The  names  and  generous 
donations  of  those  whose  land  formed  a  large  part  of  the  track  have  gone  into  history  and 
should  have  a  monument. 

"  In  our  friend's  administration  of  the  trust  of  wealth,  you  have  an  example  of  its  wisest 
use  for  the  good  of  his  fellows.  This  is  a  day  of  unexampled  charities  and  large  handed 


296  AMONG   MY   FHIENDS  AND   NEIGHBORS. 

benevolence  ;  donations  by  hundreds  of  thousands,  and  millions,  are  poured  out  of  the  trust 
which  God  has  given  in  store,  for  various  objects  of  public  good.  It  is  of  some  moment 
to  judge  rightly  of  that  use  of  means  which  benefits  the  most  and  reaches  most.  I  do  not 
know  that  any  one  way  or  purpose  should  be  set  down  for  all :  men,  though  divine  in 
giving,  are  human  in  their  judgment.  Each  acts  according  to  his  character,  habits  of 
thought,  and  life.  Let  all  give  for  good  purposes,  as  they  are  wont.  He  may  rest  well 
satisfied  with  his  work  who  appeals  thereby  to  the  better  instincts  of  the  race ;  who, 
instead  of  devoting  his  wealth  to  the  waifs  and  overburthened  of  life,  makes  opportunities 
for  self-help,  homes  and  industry  for  others ;  who  devotes  his  stores  of  wealth  to  such  an 
improvement  as  East  Bridgeport,  where  the  chance  of  homes  and  industries,  and  all  the 
strength  and  stamina  of  a  people  that  gather  around  those  homes  are  made  possible  to  every 
willing  toiler.  Our  townsman,  Howe,  made  his  millions  out  of  the  profits  of  his  great 
invention.  But  not  content  with  its  possession  and  holding  as  an  unproductive  fund,  he 
devoted  it  to  that  magnificent  industry  which  bears  his  name  and  gives  bread  and  comfort 
to  thousands. 

"  But  when  men,  like  our  friend  and  guest,  have  so  administered  the  trust  of  their  talents 
and  means,  as  to  bring  prosperity,  improvements,  comfort  and  refinement  to  others,  there 
becomes  due  to  them  a  grateful  recognition  of  duties  well  discharged,  from  their  fellows 
and  the  community  in  which  they  live.  Such  testimony  to  merit  inspires  both  giver  and 
receiver  with  a  kindly  fellowship.  We  give  ovations  to  soldiers ;  why  not  to  duty-doing 
citizens  as  well  ?  Peace  hath  her  victories,  her  toils  and  struggles,  and  her  triumphs,  less 
costly  and  wasteful,  to  be  sure,  but  ministering  to  happiness  and  wealth.  There  is  power 
in  those  men  who  move  the  business  of  the  world.  I  believe  in  Csesars  and  Napoleons — 
not  those  of  conquest,  who  squander  human  life  and  stores  of  hard-earned  wealth,  whose 
path  is  desolation — but  in  Oeesars  and  Napoleons  who  engineer  and  organize  the  industries 
of  the  world  ;  who  minister  in  the  ten  thousand  channels  where  flow  the  busy  throng  of 
human  workers,  to  swell  the  flood  and  direct  its  currents ;  who  bridge  our  mighty  rivers, 
swing  high  in  air  above  the  masts  of  ships  aerial  pathways  ;  who  tunnel  mountains,  unite 
oceans,  band  people  and  nations  with  iron  nerves  and  arteries  of  intercourse  and  commerce  ; 
who  girt  the  world  with  speaking  fire. 

"  But  Caesars  want  a  following.  No  man  alone,  however  great  his  means,  can  of  himself 
accomplish  much.  Strength  lies  in  union,  in  harmonious  action,  and  in  conspiracies  for 
good  as  well  as  evil.  If  one  can  do  so  much,  with  centered  energies  and  wealth,  how  much 
a  whole  community  who  join  their  peaceful  Csesars  in  all  works  looking  towards  the  good 
of  the  community  in  which  they  live.  May  this  our  guest  and  friend,  one  of  our  peaceful 
Caesars,  live  to  do  among  us  as  in  the  past,  but  with  a  heavier  following  and  more  earnest 
help.  Long  may  it  be  before  that  flag,  which  from  the  pinnacle  at  Waldemere  marks  his 
hospitable  presence,  shall  descend  to  note  an  absence  from  which  there  is  no  return." 

The  scholarly,  elegant  and  able  effort  of  General  Noble  received  alike  the  attention  and 
applause  which  were  its  due ;  ami  when  he  sat  down  Mr.  Barnum  arose  amid  a  perfect 
tempest  of  cheers  and  such  an  enthusiastic  greeting  as  visibly  touched  his  heart.  His 
speech  was  interrupted  wKh  frequent  applause ;  and  his  allusions  to  prominent  men,  who 
had  been  his  co-workers  in  building  up  Bridgeport— Nathaniel  Wheeler,  J.  C.  Loomis,  Glen. 
Noble  and  others — were  greeted  with  special  and  prolonged  cheers  ;  while  the  many  happy 
hits  should  have  been  heard  to  be  properly  appreciated.  The  following  is  an  outline  of 

KB.  BARNUM'S  SPEECU. 

"  YOUR  HONOR  THB  MAYOR,  NEIGHBORS  AND  FRIENDS:  I  offer  yon  my  most  profound 
thanks  for  this  spontaneous  expression  of  your  esteem.  No  words  of  mine  can  express  the 
debt  of  gratitude  which  I  owe  you. 

"Among  all  the  toils  and  pleasures,  the  vicissitudes  and  successes  of  an  active  and 
eventful  life,  this  day  and  this  occasion  will  ever  stand  out  a  red  letter  day  on  the  calendar 
of  my  history.  It  will  be  cherished  by  myself,  my  children  and  my  children's  children, 
with  feelings  of  joy  and  thankfulness. 

"  It  is  no  trifling  thing  for  a  man  of"  the  world,  of  active  temperament  and  positive  ideas, 
to  have  so  lived  as  to  have  won  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  the  general  public ;  but  it  is 
an  honor  inestimable  to  become  an  exception  to  the  divine  maxim, '  A  prophet  is  not  without 
honor  save  in  his  own  country  and  his  own  house,'  and  to-be  thus  honored  by  a  multitude 
of  my  most  prominent  and  substantial  neighbors,  among  whom  I  have  lived  for  more  than 
thirty  years.  And  daring  that  period  I  have  received  nothing  but  unvaried  kindness  from 
the  citizens  of  Bridgeport.  In  my  wanderings  I  have  always  left  our  beautiful  city  with 
regret,  and  ever  returned  to  it  with  renewed  pleasure,  for  in  this  my  home  I  am  always  sure 
of  meeting  smiling  faces  and  warm  hearts. 

"I  only  wish,  gentlemen,  that  I  better  deserved  your  compliment.  Others  sitting  at  thii 
table  merit  and  receive  your  approbation.  We  have  here  gentlemen  who  have  introduced 
manufactures  and  capital  into  Bridgeport,  without  which  it  would  have  still  been  a  mere 
country  village.  These  gentlemen,  for  their  energy  and  liberality,  command  the  gratitude 
of  their  neighbors,  and  I  trust,  at  no  distant  day,  they  will  receive  tangible  evidence  thereof. 

"  East  Bridgeport  owes  its  existence,  in  a  great  measure,  to  Gen.  Wm.  H.  Noble.  It  wa« 
his  original  conception,  and  all  its  streets  were  opened  under  his  supervision. 

•'  Our  respected  fellow  citizen  Captain  John  Brooks  was  the  first  president  of  Mountain 
Grove  Cemetery,  and  he  aided  materially  in  its  formation. 


AMONG  MY  FRIENDS  AND  JTEIGHBOBS.  297 

•  "  **.°,n  I?*™88  c>  Loomt8  was  one  of  the  most  ardent  advocates  for  the  esUhllahr»i«nt  ni 

8ea-8ide  Park  and  my  efforts  in  that  direction  were  warmly  sustJned  by  H^nNaThaniel 

to^iamT'  Vn™nclf'  Wood'  Ks<1"  Uon'  Wm-  D"  BishoP-  "ad  others  Xm  I  hav"e  not  time 

"  When  we  speak  of  the  material  prosperity  of  Bridgeport,  we  remember  with  m-atitnda 

WheneTere AwSZ?^'1  ^T^'  tO,Wh°m  T  "etn^bted  forTe^tabU^me'Sfof  thJ 
hithJ ,  H  ^i  wrC°ii8  manufactol;les  hel-e.  and  who  was  also  instrumental  in  bringing 
ither  the  noble  Ehas  Howe,  Jr.  and  many  other  enterprising  business  men.  Scores  of 
others  might  be  mentioned  who  have  contributed  largely  to  the  present  position  of  the  mos 
thriving  city  in  New  England  ;  and  pur  citizens  can  never  be  too  grateful  for  the  liberality 
and  energies  of  our  principal  capitalists  and  business  men. 

'  I  should  have  declined  the  honor  of  this  dinner,  and  been  content  with  the  privilege  of 
receiving  your  invitation  had  I  not  felt  that  this  occasion  might  perhaps  encourage  other. 
in  cultivating  a  spirit  of  liberality,  a  spirit  of  improvement  in  fact  a  '"  •  ••  • 


jged  my  opinic... 

"  When  I  started  for  Europe  last  autumn,  1  said  to  my  poor  wife  I  did  not  expect  to  see  a 
more  pleasant  locality  than  Waldemere— and  I  did  not.  Indeed,  I  fully  believe  it  is  one  of 
the  most  duliguUul  and  healthy  residences  ou  the  face  of  the  earth 

•'This  shore  around  Bridgeport  has  long  been  celebrated  for  its 'fine  and  peculiarly  invig- 
orating air.  It  has  been  remarked  that  there  has  been  during  the  last  forty  ye:irs  as  there 
is  to-day,  an  unusual  number  of  persons  living  here  whose  ages  range  from  ei"hty-five  to 
nmety-tive  and  even  one  hundred  years  and  upwards.  I  could  recall  the  names  of  scores  of 
such  persons  within  my  recollection,  and  many  such  are  now  living  here  This  is  in  a 
great  degree,  attributable  to  "OZONE,"  which  scientific  experiments  have  demonstrated 
exists  iii  larger  quantity  in  the  air  of  Bridgeport  than  in  that  of  any  other  locality  on  this 
continent. 

"  General  Noble  has  put  me  in  a  reverse  position  to  the  man  who  received  a  scratch  on 
the  face,  and  when  he  heard  his  lawyer  depict  his  terrible  injuries  to  the  jury,  burst  into 
tears  and  declared  he  had  no  conception  how  shockingly  he  had  been  injured. 

"  If  I  have  done  what  the  general  has  so  generously  stated,  it  is  because  I  could  not  help 
it.  Having  taken  Bridgeport  as  my  life-long  residence,  I  could  not  help  doing  all  in  my 
power  to  add  to  its  beauty  and  its  prosperity.  I  had  a  pride  in  the  place  of  my  selection 
and  had  no  desire  to  expend  my  money  elsewhere  :  consequently  I  felt  a  pleasure  in  laying 
out  new  streets,  raising  valleys  and  lowering  hills,  erecting  houses  and  factories  and 
Inducing  capitalists  and  manufacturers  to  come  among  ua. 

"  I  felt  like  the  old  darkle  who  was  sued  by  a  man.  Before  the  morning  of  the  trial 
arrived  the  plaintiff  withdrew  his  suit  and  paid  the  cost.  But  the  old  darkie  went  to  court 
and  insisted  upon  having  a  trial.  The  judge  told  him  the  suit  was  withdrawn. 

4 '  Nebber  mind  dat,'  exclaimed  the  ancient  African,  '  call  de  case,  call  de  case,  I  want  to 
hear  how  'em  roar  1 ' 

"  And  so  with  me.  If  I  conceived  that  a  new  street,  a  new  building,  or  the  planting  of  * 
few  hundred  trees  would  improve  things,  I  was  anxious  to  '  call  de  case  and  hear  how  'em 
roar.' 

"  The  advice  of  the  Irishman  in  the  scrimmage  at  Donnybrook  Fair  was :  '  Wherever  you 
see  a  head,  hit  it.' 

"  That  is  the  way  I  feel ;  whenever  I  see  a  swamp-hole  or  a  bit  of  salt  meadow,  I  want  to 
hit  it. 

"  Some  persons  present  will  remember  that  when  I  built  Iranistan,  a  large  brook  crossed 
Fairfleld  avenue  between  Iranistau  and  the  homestead  of  Ira  B.  Wheeler.  Travelers 
•topped  to  water  their  horses  in  that  stream.  A  salt-meadow  swamp  set  up  close  to  the 
Bouth  side  of  Fairfleld  avenue  and  boats  came  up  to  the  street.  When  I  bought  the  swamp, 
filled  it  up.  and  turned  the  stream  into  a  large  stone  sewer,  Col.  Hall  sued,  or  threatened  to 
sue  me,  lor  obstructing  navigation  !  That  entire  swamp  meadow  is  now  solid  ground. 

"  Now,  some  say  that  when  I  make  improvements,  I  do  it  with  an  eye  to  future  profit.  I 
am  glad  to  acknowledge  that  this  is  generally  true.  I  have  certainly  made  some  expensive 
improvements,  which  I  felt  sure  could  never  repay  me,  but  I  am  glad  to  have  it  understood 
that  mine  is  usually  a  profitable  philanthropy.  I  have  no  desire  to  be  considered  much  of  a 
philanthropist  in  any  other  sense.  If  by  helping  those  who  try  to  help  themselves,  I  can  do 
it  without  ultimate  loss,  the  inducement  is  all  the  greater  to  me  ;  and  if  by  improving  and 
beautifying  our  city,  anil  adding  to  the  pleasure  and  prosperity  of  my  neighbors,  I  can  do  BO 
at  a  profit,  the  incentive  to  '  good  works  '  will  be  twice  as  strong  as  if  it  were  otherwise. 

"  I  don't  believe  much  in  the  doctrine  that  teaches  persons  to  sit  still,  suck  their  fingers 
and  be  fed,  clothed  and  lodged  by  the  charity  of  others ;  I  believe  in  teaching  people  to  be 
active,  industrious,  economical  and  temperate.  Above  all,  I  believe  in  teaching  the  doctrine 
of  honesty  as  taught  by  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson,  when  he  said  that  it  is  impossible  for  one 
man  to  rob  or  injure  another  without,  at  the  same  time,  robbing  and  injuring  himself  more 
than  anybody  else.  I  believe  in  teaching  that  all  wrong-doing  and  all  violations  of  nature's 
laws  cause  us  to  lose  our  self-respect,  our  manhood  and  the  confidence  of  mankind,  so  that 
it  is  impossible  to  gain  anything  thereby,  hence  that  honesty  is.  as  Franklin  sold,  the  best 
'podcy,'  and  that  right  in  any  shape  is  always  the  best  ^policy.  And  those  who  do  right 
and  try  to  help  themselves  do  not  generally  ueed  free  gifts  from  others.  King  David  tri'ly 


298 


AMONG  MY   FRIENDS   AND   NEIGHBORS. 


said  he  had  '  never  seen  the  righteous  forsaken,  nor  their  seed  begging  bread.'  Therefore, 
I  want  it  to  be  understood,  that  when  I  make  improvements  I  am  benefiting  the  community 
by  giving  employment  to  working  people. 

"But  there  is  a  funny  side  to  my  improvements  and  experiences  in  Bridgeport.  When  I 
first  settled  here  I  knew  nothing  about  making  new  streets,  erecting  buildings,  laying  out 
pleasure  grounds,  etc. 

"I  had  traveled  considerably,  and  picked  up  some  knowledge  of  human  nature,  and  that 
was  all.  Hence,  in  making  'improvements,'  I  made  many  ludicrous  blunders.  I  had 
bought  up  during  several  years  numerous  parcels  of  land  west  of  Fairfleld  avenue,  and  it  so 
happened  that  a  low  piece  of  salt  meadow  lay  between  two  pieces  of  my  upland.  Thinking 
that  at  some  future  time  I  might  want  that  salt  marsh  filled  up,  I  called  on  Deacon  Silliman, 
the  reputed  owner,  and  told  him  he  had  a  piece  of  salt  meadow  I  wished  to  buy. 

"  '  I  have  no  salt  meadow  to  spare,'  said  the  deacon.  '  Well,  I'll  let  you  have  another 
piece  in  exchange.  I  only  want  yours  so  as  to  connect  my  two  pieces  of  land,'  I  replied. 
'  I  don't  know  which  salt  meadow  you  mean,'  said  the  deacon.  '  Jump  into  my  wagon  and 
I  will  show  it  to  you  in  ten  minutes,'  I  answered,  and  away  we  went.  Arriving  at  the  spot 
I  pointed  out  the  coveted  piece  of  marsh .  '  Why,  Mr.  Barnum,  you  have  owned  that  salt 
meadow  these  three  years  1'  exclaimed  the  astonished  deacon.  I  was  always  vexed  that 
the  deacon  did  not  give  me  a  quit-claim  for  twenty-five  dollars ;  the  joke  would  have  been 
worth  that. 

"  On  another  occasion  I  was  in  the  Island  of  Ccba.  I  went  to  a  nursery  there,  admired 
the  young  palms,  bananas,  India  rubber  plants,  indigo  and  coffee  trees,  &c.,  and  having  no 
special  knowledge  of  such  things,  but  desiring  to  enrich  the  conservatories  of  Iranistan 
with  every  rare  plant  and  flower,  I  purchased  a  lot  of  these  shrubs  and  then  gave  the 
nurseryman  an  order  for  flower  seeds,  which  were  to  include  everything  which  he  had  that 
was  rare.  He  made  Pie  up  over  a  hundred  packages  of  seeds,  at  an  expense  of  some  fifty 
dollars.  When  planted  in  the  grounds  of  Iranistan,  I  found  I  had  purchased  seeds  of  cat- 
nip, pennyroyal,  inullen,  daisies,  and  lots  of  weeds  common  to  us,  but  quite  '  rare '  to  the 
Havana  nurseryman. 

"And  so  on  my  late  visit  to  Europe,  with  a  desire  to  beautify  the  grounds  of  Waldemere, 
I  engaged  the  best  gardener  in  the  Crystal  Palace  Gardens  at  Sydenham,  and  sent  him  to 
America.  I  looked  over  the  various  rare  plants,  with  which  these  grounds  abound,  and  made 
numerous  selections  for  Waldemere.  On  placing  them  in  my  grounds,  my  neighbors  dis- 
covered 'dusty  miller,'  and  several  other  common  plants  among  my  supposed  choice 
varieties. 

"  But,  gentlemen,  I  will  not  detain  you  ;  I  cannot  tell  yon  how  glad  I  am  to  meet  you,  nor 
can  I  sit  down  without  saying  how  grateful  I  am  for  the  kindness  and  delicate  forethought 
you  have  shown  in  deferring  on  this  occasion  to  my  public  advocacy  of  teetotalism  for 
thirty  years.  I  trust  our  natural  faw  of  spirits  will  keep  us  jolly,  and  hope  that  somehow 
or  other  you  will  manage  to  do  what  I  always  desire  my  patrons  to  do,  viz.:  '  Get  the  worth 
of  your  money." 

Mr.  Barnum  sat  down  amid  prolonged  applause,  and  when  that  had  subsided  and  the 
band  had  played  an  appropriate  air,  George  Mallory,  Esq.,  chairman  of  the  Dinner  Committee, 
announced  the  next  regular  toast,  "The  Municipal  Government  of  our  City  ;  may  Wisdom 
guide  and  govern  the  deliberations  and  acts  of  its  council,  and  Ability  and  Honesty  the 
execution  of  its  laws. 

XATOR  R.  T.  CLARKE'S  SPEECH. 
After  responding  directly  to  the  toast,  Mayor  Clarke  said  : 

"  When  I  first  came  to  Bridgeport,  something  more  than  twenty  years  ago,  I  used  to  take 
an  occasional  walk  alter  bank  hours  into  the  country.  I  enjoyed  the  fields,  the  quiet,  the 
almost  complete  solitude  of  the  uninhabited  regions  through  which  I  strolled.  The  scene 
would  be  enlivened  now  and  then  by  the  flight,  part  play  and  part  fear,  of  some  squirrel 
bounding  along  a  stone  wall.  Next  there  would  come  a  glimpse  of  civilization  in  some  cow 
getting  her  living  in  a  five-acre  lot  of  daisies  and  sorrel,  bounded  by  a  moss-grown  and 
venerable  rail  fence ;  and  once  in  a  while  aboriginal  scenes  would  re-appear  in  an  encamp- 
ment of  New  Milford  or  Kent  Indians,  who  had  strayed  for  a  few  weeks  away  from  home. 
Where  did  I  go  for  these  walks  of  mine  ?  Not  very  far.  That  was  East  Bridge-port  when 
I  first  came  here.  There  were  the  houses  of  a  few  old  residents  on  '  the  Point.'  The  rest 
was  mainly  fields,  and  as  much  country  as  Tashua  is  to-day  ;  and  it  is  a  fact  that  I  have 
more  than  once  seen  Indians  encamped  in  the  woods  which  were  in  those  days  near  the 
east  end  of  the  present  railroad  bridge. 

"The  change  from  that  time  to  this  is  very  much  like  a  dream.  I  need  not  tell  you  to 
n'hose  enterprise  it  is  that  we  are  mainly  indebted  for  that  change.  We  have  him  here 
with  us  as  the  guest  of  the  evening.  I  will  not  enter  into  those  particulars  which  have  and 
will  be,  no  doubt,  thoroughly  discussed  by  the  eloquent  speakers  to  whom  we  are  to  have 
the  privilege  of  listening.  I  will  but  say,  in  a  word,  that  no  one  can  compare  Bridgeport  as  it 
was  with  Bridgeport  as  it  is,  without  an  impulse  of  gratitude  towards  that  genius  of  indus- 
try, sagacity  and  boldness  in  whose  honor  this  meeting  is  given,  and  that  there  can  oe  in 
the  years  to  come  no  impartial  history  of  Bridgeport  written  which  shall  leave  out  the  name 
of  P.  T.  Barnum." 

Mayor 'Jlarke  was  liberally  applauded,  and  "  when  the  tumult  dwindled  to  a  calm  "  h* 
announced  the  next  toiist,  "The  Manufacturing  airl  Commercial  Interests  o' 


AMONG    MY   FRIENDS  AND   NEIGHBORS.  *yo 

tnd  called  upon  Hon.  Nathaniel  Wheeler  to  respond.  He  was  received  wHh  a  very 
flattering  burst  of  applause,  and  after  some  pithy  and  appropriate  remarks  about  the  growth 
of  the  city  and  Its  manufactures,  he  continued  : 

"  When  manufacturers  visited  Bridgeport  with  a  view  to  locating  here,  our  distinguished 
guest  mot  them  in  a  cordial  and  generous  manner,  and  would  say  to  them,  'If  you  wish  to 
locate  here,  take  my  lands  for  a  site.'  It  was  this  generous  and  far-seeing  policy  that 
brought  to  our  city  numerous  manufacturing  establishments.  Among  them  may  be  men- 
tioned that  of  Blias  Howe,  that  of  Schnyler,  Hartley  &  Graham,  the  Hotchkiss  establishment, 
and  many  others,  and  thus  our  town  grew  up  to  be  a  city  of  shops,  stores  and  residences. 
You  have  seen  the  stranger  coming  in  from  all  directions  as  to  a  place  inviting  for  business 
enterprise,  because  there  was  thrift,  life  and  spirit  in  Bridgeport. 

"  And  to-day  our  city  offers  to  business  men  the  greatest  inducements  of  any  place  in  the 
land.  (Applause.)  It  is  near  New  York,  and  yet  sufficiently  in  New  England  to  command 
the  best  class  of  mechanics  and  artisans.  And  I  am  happy  to  note  the  effect  of  bringing 
this  class  of  men  to  our  town.  And  I  will  add,  that  whenever  strangers  have  come  here,  or 
mechanics  have  come  here,  they  have  always  been  met  by  open-handed  encouragement  from 
our  guest.  The  products  of  Bridgeport  go  into  every  family  on  the  continent/and  to  every 
continent  on  the  earth,  and  are  stamped  with  words  indelibly,  '  Manufactured  at  Bridge- 
port, Conn.'  Yon  cannot  find  a  town  or  village  but  has  Bridgeport  represented  in  it  by  one 
of  the  most  useful  instruments  ever  devised  by  the  skill  of  man.  Go  to  Mexico,  or  South 
America,  yes,  even  to  the  homes  lining  the  remote  tributaries  of  the  La  Platte,  and  you  will 
find  it  doing  its  duty  and  saving  labor  to  the  poor  female  of  the  country.  Go  to  Asia  and 
you  will  find  it ;  and  even  in  China  and  Japan. 

"  I  wish  to  have  it  understood  that  our  guest  laid  the  foundation  of  all  this  business,  and 
I  am  glad  to  be  here  to  honor  him  and  sound  his  praise.  We  did  not  come  here  to  examine 
some  wonderful  specimen  of  human  longevity,  or  with  a  curious  eye  to  view  some  wonder- 
ful product  of  the  sea — (Mr.  Barn  11111 — '  Mermaid  1 '  Laughter.) — we  came  here  to  honor  the 
man  who  has  honored  Bridgeport  and  laid  the  foundation  of  her  prosperity,  and  has  always 
given  to  Bridgeport '  more  than  her  money's  worth.' "  (Applause.) 

Mayor  Clarke  then  announced  the  next  regular  sentiment,  "  The  Press,"  to  which  Mr. 
G.  C.  Waldo  responded  as  follows  : 

"  We  have  to-night  heard  how  the  great  energy,  perseverance,  indomitable  will  and  spirit 
of  Mr.  Baruum  have  contributed  to  his  success  ;  but  one  great  element  of  that  success  has 
not  been  mentioned.  No  one  knows  better  than  P.  T.  Barnum  the  value  of  printer's  ink  1 
He  values  it  and  uses  it,  and  without  it  he  might  to-day  have  still  been  a  wandering  show- 
man, exhibiting  from  town  to  town,  instead  of  the  great  chief  and  head  he  undoubtedly  is, 
of  all  men  in  his  business  !  (Applause.)  Mr.  Barnum  himself  will  tell  you  that !  (Mr. 
Barnum,  interrupting,  'Yes,  without  printer's  ink  I  should  have  been  no  bigger  than  Tom 
Thumb  1 ')  Mr.  Barnum  thoroughly  understands  the  value  of  judicious  advertising,  and  if 
yon  would  succeed  as  he  has,  'go  and  do  likewise!  "'  (Applause.) 

Mr.  Morris,  of  the  New  York  Times,  then  said: 

"  Mr.  Barnnm  represented  the  energy  and  enterprise  of  the  American  race,  and  the  better 
side  of  those  qualities,  too.  He  went  abroad  with  his  money  to  purchase  what  was  valuable 
there,  but  more  valuable  here,  and  would  bring  him  an  increase  on  his  investment  in  turn. 
He  was  the  thrifty,  enterprising  and  indomitable  Yankee,  and  illustrated  the  characteristic 
and  distinctive  element  of  the  American  mind,  lie  knew  the  value  of  printer's  ink,  and 
of  the  men  who  made  printer's  ink  the  vehicle  of  news  and  information.  Mr.  Barnum 
owed  much  to  the  editorial  fraternity,  and  they  in  turn  were  indebted  to  him  for  liberality 
and  courtesy.  The  editorial  profession  had  always  been  ready  to  aid  any  honest  enterprise, 
and  herald  whatever  was  worth  heralding.  The  press  of  New  York  acknowledged  Mr. 
Barnum  the  greatest  showman  of  the  world,  and  one  of  the  most  truly  philanthropic.  In 
behalf  of  the  members  of  the  New  York  press,  he  thanked  Mr.  Barnum  for  the  kindness 
and  courtesies  extended  to  them,  and  expressed  a  wish  that  one  so  ready  to  assist  his  fellows 
might  live  long  to  enjoy  many  such  occasions,  at  which  he  hoped  ,to  be  present.  (Applause.) 

The  next  sentiment  was  "Our  Homes,"  to  which  Dr.  C.  E.  Sanford  responded  as  follows: 

"Our  homes,  models  of  refined  taste,  surrounded  with  nature's  loveliest  adornments; 

pleasant  to  behold,  pleasanter  to  know,  pleasantest  to  possess.    I  thank  you,  Mr.  Chairman, 

for  inviting  me  to  respond  to  such  a  sentiment.    Next  to  my  profession,  I  love  my  home, 


AMONG   MY   FKIENDS  AND   NEIGHBORS. 

Iranittan,  built  it  when  he  was  abroad,  and  surrounded  it  with  all  the  loveliness  of  nature 
and  art.  I  can  well  imagine  how  other  matrons  and  other  households,  stimulated  by  such 
an  example,  have  built  more  wisely  and  spent  more  time  and  eil'ort  in  beautifying  and  adorn- 
ing their  homes.  After  the  trial  byjire  and  by  time  came  Lindencroft ;  less  pretentious,  but 
perhaps  not  less  beautiful  in  its  chaste  simplicity,  and  last  of  all  she  fashioned  Waldemere: 
and  we  shall  never  gaze  upon  its  rounding  slope  of  sun-kissed  lawn  with  its  rich  borders  of 
bright,  fragrant  flowers,  upon  its  mounds  of  moss-grown  stone  and  shell,  its  wooded  park 
and  its  wave-washed  shore  (only  the  rim  of  our  fair  park  between)  without  remembering 
her  to  whom  I  believe  this  community  are  indirectly  so  deeply  indebted  for  so  much  that  is 
beautiful  about  our  homes.  The  contagion  of  example  is  intense  and  eil'ective,  and  1  can 
readily  see  how  it  spread  from  these  houses  which  your  wealth  erected  and  her  taste 
adorned,  to  others  less  pretentious — spread,  because  the  loving  heart  and  the  fervent  mind 
of  woman  IB  always  ready  for  such  an  influence.  And  just  here,  Mr.  Bariium,  in  the  name 
of  the  citizens  of  Bridgeport  and  of  strangers  who  may  visit  here,  I  desire  to  thank  you  for 
again  throwing  open  to  the  public  your  beautiful  grounds  at  V  aldemere,  your  latest  and 
perhaps  your  best  model  of  a  charming  home.  It  has  been  well  said  '  that  he  who  causes 
two  blades  of  grass  to  grow  where  but  one  has  grown  before  is  a  public  benefactor.'  If 
this  is  true,  he  who  converts  a  New  England  cow-pasture  into  an  almost  perfect  paradise 
of  loveliness,  and  then  lets  down  the  bars  and  says  to  all  man  and  womankind,  '  come  in 
and  enjoy  this  with  me,'  shall  at  least  receive  our  warmest  thanks. 

"Mr.  Barnum  has  always  been  a  good  feeder,  but  by  no  means  a  high  liver,  and  herein  is 
one  great  secret  of  his  health.  Good,  plain,  substantial  food,  und  plenty  of  it;  for  the  solid 
physique,  with  the  constantly  worked  Drain  and  nerve  and  muscle,  must  needs  nnd  plenty 
of  good  blood  with  which  to  replenish.  I  remember  very  well  one  summer  when  I  was 
frequently  at  his  house,  Mr.  BaruuuTs  dessert,  day  after  day,  was  cold  boiled  rice  and  milk. 
Very  simple  and  very  nutritous.  No  irritating  stimulants;  no  dyspeptic  pastry.  Show 
him  the  reasonableness  and  healthfulness  of  taking  a  given  food  or  drink,  it  would  be 
tried;  of  denying  it  and  it  was  'passed.''  And  with  all  respect  to  Mr.  Baruum's  unselfish- 
ness !  just  here  I  imagine,  lies  the  foundation  of  his  anti-rum  and  anti-tobacco  principles. 
He  made  up  his  mind,  saw,  felt  and  was  convinced  it  was  an  injury  to  him,  and,  presto,  he 
would  have  none  of  it.  So  he  has  been  the  foe  of  rum  and  tobacco,  and  he  believes  they 
are  his  and  the  foes  of  all  mankind.  He  says  they  break  down,  they  weaken,  they  destroy. 
So  he  fights  them,  especially  the  former,  with  lance  well  held  in  rest,  and  with  his  well- 
known  vigor  and  zeal. 

"But,  sir,  you  have  always  shown  your  love  for  us  by  spending  your  money  freely  in  our 
midst.  Your  open  grounds  at  Waldemere  '  ao  passing  fair,'  will  prove  a  rapid  education  in 
the  love  of  the  beautiful." 

Next  in  order  came  "  The  City  of  Hartford  "  responded  to  by  David  dark,  Esq.,  of  that 
city.  Mr.  Clark  said : 

"  To  show  you  how  he  is  appreciated  in  Hartford,  I  will  tell  you  what  a  citizen  said  of 
him:  'If  he  had  been  a  citizen  of  Hartford,  it  would  have  been  the  capital  of  the  State 
twenty  years  ago,  and  a  city  of  one  hundred  thousand  inhabitants.  (Applause.)  Instead 
of  being  at  the  head  of  sloop  navigation,  the  ocean  steamers  would  have  arrived  at  her 
ports  by  some  Suez  canal  that  he  would  have  constructed.'  I  only  have  to  say  that  I  hope 
Mr.  Barnum  will  send  that  man  a  ticket  to  his  Roman  Hippodrome.  (Laughter  and  cheers.) 
Twenty-six  years  ago  I  visited  Bridgeport,  but  saw  the  elements  of  success  were  wanting, 
out  since  then  her  advancement  has  been  excelled  by  no  town  in  the  State,  which  is  in  a 
ereat  degree  owing  to  the  energy  and  public  spirit  of  your  distinguished  fellow-townsman. 
For  this  he  is  entitled  to  great  credit,  and  this  honor  is  justly  due  him,  and  his  memory  will 
always  be  cherished  by  those  who  know  the  story  of  his  good  deeds.  Shakespeare  made 
Mark  Antony  say  that '  the  evil  men  do,  lives  after  them,  while  the  good  they  do  is  often 
interred  with  their  bones.'  That  might  do  for  that  generation,  but  henceforth  it  is  the  good 
men  do  that  will  live  after  them."  (Applause.) 

Mr.  Clark  sat  down  amid  applause,  and  the  Chairman  announced  the  "  Town  of  Danbury," 
responded  to  by  the  Hon.  D.  P.  Nichols,  of  that  place,  who  thanktl  the  committee  for  the 
compliment  to  Danbury,  and  closed  with  the  wish  that  Mr.  Barn.im  might  live  long  to 
-vbeuelit  the  city  of  his  adoption,  and  honor  the  place  of  his  nativity. 

Mr.  Nichols  received  hearty  applause. 

Next  on  the  programme  was  a  poem  by  Judge  S.  B.  Sumner.  It  was  splendidly  delivered, 
kept  the  company  in  a  roar  of  laughter,  and  is  one  of  the  happiest  ell'orts  th.it  Judge  Sum- 
ner has  ever  produced.  \Ve  are  pleased  to  be  able  to  lay  it  before  our  readers,  and  can 
assure  them  that  it  is  simply  "  perfect  of  its  kind,"  but  needs  the  Judge's  excellent  delivery 
to  be  properly  set  out.  Round  after  round  of  applause  greeted  every  happy  hit,  and  com- 
pelled a  temporary  suspension  of  the  reading. 

JUDOB  8.  B.  BUHNER'S  POEM. 

"I'm  no  pianist ;  ue'ertheless  a  pcean  I  must  sing, 
This  night  in  honor  of  our  guest,  the  famous  Money-King  ; 
The  man  who  keeps  informing  us  that  poverty's  a  blunder. 
And  rolls  up  wealth  before  our  eyes,  while  we  look  on  *nd  wonder. 


MY    FH1ENDS  AN  JO   N JSJ.GHBOJW.  301 

"  There's  no  such  thing  as  ciphering  the  gauge  of  such  a  man; 
To-day  it's  business  in  New  York — to-morrow  in  Japan; 
One  day  beneath  the  sea,  to  flud  some  learned,  lovely  shark, 
The  next,  way  off  on  Ararat,  for  pieces  of  the  Ark  I 

"  Sometimes  he  calls  for  quarter,  with  the  giant  Fe-Fo-Fum; 
And  then  again  he  captures  us  with  General  Tom  Thumb; 
One  day  in  Bridgeport,  staking  out  new  streets  across  his  farm, 
The  next,  in  Windsor  Castle,  with  Victoria  on  his  arm; 

u  One  day  upon  the  prairies,  looking  out  lor  freaks  of  nature  ; 
The  next,  in  Hartford,  speech-making  before  the  legislature ; 
One  day  the  Bearded  Woman  ;  next,  the  Mermaid  with  her  comb  ; 
And  now  the  Hippopotamus,  and  now  the  Hippodrome. 

14  To-day  recalling  from  the  deep,  oblivious  shades  of  death, 
And  so  rejuvenating  and  rejoicing  old  Joice  Heth  ; 
To-morrow,  showing  all  at  once,  the  wondrous  Twins  of  Siaiu, 
And  Jnlius  Cesar's  boxing-gloves,  and  fish-pole  used  by  Priam. 

'One  day  the  fiery  element  his  big  Museum  slashes, 
But  next  day,  lo  1  it  rises  as  a  Phoenix  from  its  ashes  ; 
And  while  the  croakers  shake  their  heads,  and  dubiously  figure. 
The  Crocodile  gives  broader  smiles,  the  show  keeps  growing  bigger  | 

"I  never,  NEVBB,  saw  his  like ;  and  so  I  might  as  well 
Give  o'er  at  once  the  vain  attempt  all  his  exploits  to  tell ; 
It's  all  recorded— read  of  all— on  everybody's  shelf; 
1  Biography  of  P.  T.  Barnum,  written  by  himself.' 

"There's  not  a  journal  round  the  world,  whose  columns  haven't  know  n  '  im 
Nor  board  fence,  on  whose  superflce  bill-posters  haven't  shown  him; 
No  savage  or  philosopher,  no  Gentile.  Greek  or  Roman, 
But  knows  of  this  ubiquitous,  inevitable  showman. 

"But  'showman'  though  he  style  himself,  we  know  the  word  but  telU* 
A  vulgar  fraction  of  what  force  within  his  manhood  dwells ; 
An  orator  of  wide  repute,  a  poet  and  a  preacher, 
An  author  and  an  editor,  a  student  and  a  teacher ! 

"A  wit  of  ever-ready  fund  within  his  storehouse  ample; 
Of  Temperance,  alike  renowned  Apostle  and  example  : 
Philanthropist,  with  human  kind  not  merely  sympathetic, 
But  generous  and  bountiful,  and  grandly  energetic. 

"And  last — hjino  means  least— of  all ;  and  that  is  why  we  come 
Thus  heartily  to  welcome  him— a  lover  of  his  home ! 
A  home  that  proudly  crowns  to-day  a  whilom  barren  waste, 
The  triumph  and  the  marvel  now  of  fine  asthetic  taste  1 

"But  prouder  monument  for  him:  within  the  city's  bound, 
Full  many  a  score  of  happy  habitations  may  be  found. 
Whose  owners  will  not  soon  forget  the  prudent  head  that  planned 
The  homes  they  ne'er  had  builded  but  for  Barnum's  helping  hand  I 

"Oh,  when  the  leaf  of  human  life  is  turning  sere  and  yellow, 
One's  best  reflection  can  but  be,  that  he  has  served  his  fellow ; 
How  many  a  man  had  been  a  wreck,  whose  fate  had  quite  undone  him 
If  Barnum  hadn't  raised,  and  put  wheels  under  him,  and  '  run  '  him  ' 

"Now,  if  our  fellow  citizen  had  been  a  sordid  hunks, 
Who  hoarded  all  his  treasures  in  old  stockings  and  in  trunks, 
We  simply  should  have  set  him  down  a  flinty-hearted  sinner, 
Instead  of  voting  him  a  •  brick '  and  complimentary  dinner. 

"And  so  we  wish  it  understood,  and  thoroughly  inferred, 
These  testimonials  of  esteem— we  mean  them,  every  word, 
We  toast  not  wealth,  nor  simply  brains,  but,  as  we  proudly  can, 
The  qualities  that  always  make  ttie  hero  and  the  man. 

'Long  life  and  health  to  him  and  his,  to  do  and  gather  good, 
And  when  at  last  he  shall  be  called  to  cross  the  Stygian  flood, 
Surviving  friends,  with  tearful  eyes,  beholding  him  embark, 
Shall  place  his  statue,  I  predict,  within  the  Sea-side  Park ; 


AMOKO   MY   FRIENDS  AND   NEIGHBOUR. 

"And  every  ooy  wno  looks  thereon,  the  record  shall  review, 
And  learu  what  steady  Yankee  pluck  and  industry  can  do; 
And  as  our  city  grows  apace,  an  ever  crescent  fame, 
As  halo,  shall  surround  her  pristine  Benefactor's  name. 

"  And  meanwhile,  he'll  be  ransacking  the  Universe  for  '  stars,' 
And  lav  a  cable  through  the  air  from  Jupiter  to  Mars, 
And  institute  a  comet-race,  on  some  tremendous  wager, 
And  case  up  Taurus,  Scorpio,  the  Whale,  and  Ursa  Major  t 

"  And  niro  the  Twins — oh,  Gemini  1— to  manage  a  balloon. 
Ana  make  an  exhibition  of  the  old  man  ill  tie  moo-; ; 
And  in  the  vast  arena,  pit  the  Sickle  of  the  Lioi. 
Against  the  vaunted  sword  and  belt  of  arrogant  Orloj 

"  And,  finally,  discovering  the  brink  of  Hades'  crater, 
Put  out  the  conflagration  with  his  Fire  Annihilator ; 
Exorcise  from  the^neighborhood,  the  'cussed'  imps  of  evU, 
Nor  rest,  till  he  has  raised,  reformed,  and  then — ENGAGED — the  Devil  I  ' 

When  quiet  hud  been  restored,  Mayor  Clarke  announced  "  The  Bar  and  Bench,'  to  which 
the  Hon.  J.  C.  Loomis  eloquently  replied.  His  remarks  commanded  marked  attention  and 
appreciative  and  hearty  applause.  "The  Veterans  of  the  Show  Business"  was  then 
announced  by  the  chairman,  and  was  responded  to  by  Mr.  Fordyce  Hitchcock,  of  New 
York,  who  alluded  to  his  management  for  Mr.  Barn  urn  of  the  old  Museum  for  many  years, 
and  who  said: 

"  It  has  ever  been  the  endeavor  of  my  friend  to  avoid  everything  calculated  to  offend  the 
most  delicate  taste  or  mislead  the  mind  of  the  young  (Applause.)  But  it  is  said  Barnum 
is  a  grand  humbug.  I  ask  if  any  went  into  his  Museum  that  did  not  get  his  money's  worth. 
I  have  traveled  over  Europe  and  found  no  place  that  compared  with  Barnum's  old  Museum. 
And  that  institution  saved  many  young  men,  who  sought  it  instead  of  goiiig  into  dens  of 
vice.  If  that  is  being  a  humbug,  let  us  all  learn  to  be  humbugs."  (Applause.) 

The  chair  then  announced  that  the  lateness  of  the  evening  compelled  a  shortening  of  the 
programme,  and  that  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hopper  would  respond  to  the  toast  "The  Clergy"'  as  the 
last  sentiment  of  the  evening. 

DR.  HOPPER'S  SPEECH. 

"  MB.  MAYOR  AND  GENTLEMEN:  I  am  glad  that  I  have  the  pleasure  of  being  present  on 
this  occasion.  I  desire  to  add  my  little  quota  to  the  interest  of  the  hour.  I  bring  all  of 
which  my  nature  is  susceptible,  for  I  am  in  entire  rapport  with  the  object  of  the  meeting. 
It  seems  to  be  nightly  befitting  that  the  clergy  should  be  represented  at  this  banquet  g'ven 
in  honor  of  our  esteemed  guest,  and  I  am  glad  that  the  custom  which  onci-  prevailed  in 
old  England  of  dismissing  the  clergy  to  an  ante-room  after  the  sitting  of  grace,  does  not 
prevail  in  this  country,  but  that  with  impunity  they  may  sit  through  the  entire  feast,  par 
taking  of  the  choicest  viands,  sharing  even  in  the  offering  of  genial  t&'ists.  It  is  propei 
that  we  should  be  present  at  this  time  for  many  reasons.  In  the  first  place,  our  honored 
Iriend  has  always  taken  kindly  to  the  clergy,  ever  ready  to  manifest  a  genuine  and  tangible 
sympathy  for  them  in  their  sacred  mission.  Mr.  Barnum,  during  his  long  and  eventful  liie, 
has  fastened,  as  with  hooks  of  steel,  to  his  broad  nature  many  of  the  clergy  of  every 
denomination,  who  are  among  his  truest  and  most  devoted  friends.  Among  this  number 
are  the  distinguished  Drs.  Chapin,  Cuyler,  Thomas,  Emerson  and  others,  who.  had  circum- 
stances permitted,  would  have  gladly  been  personally  present,  and  brought  floral  wreaths 
as  expressions  of  their  sincere  sympathy  and  affection  for  the  man.  And  many  of  the 
profession,  who  have  fallen  upon  sleep,  resting  from  life's  conflicts,  could  they  leave  their 
quiet  graves,  or  celestial  homes,  would  be  here  and  vie  with  us  in  our  offerings.  Let  us 
believe,  as  it  is  not  inconsistent  with  our  holy  faith,  that  unseen  they  are  bending  over  us. 

"  It  is  befitting  that  we  should  speak,  because  I  think  our  friend  may  have  been'originally 
designed  for  the  church.  I  don't  know  that  he  ever  himself  harbored  such  a  thought,  I 
only  judge  from  his  youthful  reply,  as  a  Sunday-school  scholar,  to  the  question  implied  in 
the  words  of  Christ  to  Martha,  *  One  thing  it  iieedfulS  I  quote  the  closing  paragraph: 
'  The  one  thing  needful,'  says  the  young  preacher,  '  is  to  believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
follow  in  his  footsteps,  love  God,  and  obey  his  commandments,  love  our  fellow-man,  and 
embrace  every  opportunity  of  administering  to  his  necessities.  In  short,  the  one  thing 
needful  is,  to  live  a  life  that  we  can  always  look  back  upon  with  satisfaction,  and  be  enabled 
ever  to  contemplate  its  termination  with  trust  in  Him  who  has  so  kindly  vouchsafed  it  to 
us,  surrounding  us  with  innumerable  blessings,  if  we  have  but  the  heart  and  wisdom  to 
receive  them  in  a  proper  manner.'  Noble  sentiment  for  a  youth  I  Surely,  here  is  a  minister 
In  embryo.  I  could  wish  that  with  a  sanctified  lile,  he  had  elevated  himself  to  this  noble 
calling.  No  doubt  but  that  he  would  have  been  greatly  successful.  With  his  fine 
mesmerism,  how  lie  would  have  electrified  the  people;  what  a  spiritual  showman  he  would 
have  made ;  how  he  would  have  exhibited  the  menagerie  of  the  heart,  in  which  ferocious 
beasts,  in  the  form  of  fiery  passions,  prey  upon  the  suul.  And  with  his  genial  love  and 
trust  in  mankind,  seeing  ever  the  good  in  the  midst  of  degrading  vices,  how  lovingly  he 


AMONG   MY   FRIENDS  AND   NEIGHBORS.  303 


- 


It  is  befitting  that  the  clergy  should  here  have  a  voice,  because  our  friend,  in  addition 
to  the  great  interest  winch  he  has  always  taken  in  the  secular  affairs  of  our  city,  has  never 
foiled  to  generously  assist  the  churches  in  the  days  of  their  weakness  and  poverty 

He  doubtless  saw  that  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  his  favorite  city  would  largely 
depend  upon  the  elevating  influence  of  Christian  sanctuaries.  In  almost  every  church  book 
In  the  city  is  recorded  at  different  times  a  liberal  subscription  from  Mr  B 

"And  I  here  acknowledge  the  generous  aid,  pecuniarily,  which  he  rendered  to  the  church 
over  which  I  have  the  honor  to  preside,  in  the  days  of  her  feebleness 

"So,  then,  I  say  again,  most  emphatically,  it  is  highly  befitting  that  the  clergy  have  a 
voice  at  this  festival. 

"  In  closing,  please,  friend  Barnum,  accept  our  kind  congratulations  and  offerings  of  sincere 
friendship.  As  the  years  with  you  roll  on  towards  the  deep  sunset  may  you  find  the 
evening  of  life  serene  and  beautiful,  and  your  faith  in  God  and  love  for  humanity  increase 
HS  the  shadows  longer  grow." 

Mr.  George  Mallory  begged  leave  to  offer,  as  a  final  sentiment,  the  following,  one  in  which 
an  could  join:  "May  the  Hag  at  Waldemere  long  continue  to  float  over  that  dwelling 
indicating,  as  it  does,  that  its  owner  is  'at  home.'  ^  (Applause.) 

Three  cheers  were  then  called  for  by  Mayor  Clarke  in  honor  of  P.  T.  Barnum  which 
were  given  with  a  rousing  will,  and  the  company  dispersed  at  about  one  o'clock. 

Among  those  present  who  would  have  been  called  upon  to  speak,  had  not  the  lateness  of 
the  hour  prevented,  were  the  Rev.  E.  W.  Maxey.  the  Rev.  Edwin  Johnson,  the  Rev.  D  O 
Fen-is,  the  Rev.  Father  Synott.  the  Rev.  Dr.  Richardson,  the  Rev.  N.  L.  Briggs,  and  others' 

It  must  be  a  matter  of  congratulation  to  Mr.  Barnum  that  this  entire  movement  was  so 
spontaneous,  and  that  no  effort  was  needed  to  make  it  a  grand  success.  There  was  a 
balance  in  the  hands  of  the  committee  of  fifty  dollars,  which  was  given  to  the  Bridgeport 
Orphan  Asylum. 

[From  the  Republican  Standard  (Editorial),  July  3,  1874.] 
P.  T.  BARNUM. 

The  press  and  the  people  of  Bridgeport  united  in  an  ovation  to  P.  T.  Barnum,  Thursday 
evening,  in  acknowledgment  of  the  honor  due  him  for  the  public  improvements  he  has 
inaugurated  and  pushed  through  in  this  city,  with  unceasing  energy,  for  the  past  thirty 
years.  To  the  press  he  acknowledges  his  obligations  for  success  in  life.  It  has  given  him 
fame,  so  far  and  wide  that  his  uame  is  familiar  to  every  eye  that  can  read  and  every  ear  that 
can  hear,  while  almost  every  pocket  has  contributed  to  his  store  of  wealth.  Without  the 
press,  he  says  he  would  to-day  "  be  a  pigmy  no  bigger  than  Tom  Thumb,"  instead  of  being 
at  the  head  of  his  profession.  If  the  press  is  thus  the  father  of  P.  T.  Barnum,  it  follows 
that  it  is  the  grandfather  of  East  Bridgeport  and  all  other  public  improvements  wrought 
out  by  his  hand.  It  is  to  be  hoped,  therefore,  that  East  Bridgeport  will  hold  its  grand- 
father in  all  due  honor  and  reverence. 

We  have  always  admired  the  public  spirit  of  P.  T.  Barnum.  He  is  accustomed  to  work 
with  herculean  energy  and  enthusiasm  to  acquire  his  money,  and  then  he  shows  the  same 
zeal  in  spending  it,  and  to  this  characteristic  Bridgeport  is  indebted  for  all  those  public 
Improvement*  inaugurated  by  1iim.  We  admire  the  way  and  manner  in  which  he  works  out 
his  plans.  Instead  of  sending  petitions  to  the  Common  Council,  having  committees  appointed 
to  examine  and  report,  advertising  for  hearings,  ordering  the  street  commissioners  to  do  the 
work,  then  make  assessments,  having  appeals  to  the  board  of  review,  and  all  that,  he  merely 
tells  "  Dave  Sherwood  "  to  open  a  street  here,  fill  tip  a  swamp  there,  dig  down  this  hill, 
blast  out  that  rock,  build  houses,  &c.,  and  the  work  is  done  and  he  is  ready  for  the  next  one, 
before  he  even  could  get  a  petition  through  the  Common  Council.  It  may  be  very  true  that 
he  does  all  these  things  for  the  sake  of  making  more  money  thereby,  yet  this  fact  by  no 
means  lessens  the  obligations  of  Bridgeporters  to  him,  but  they  might  well  pray  for  a  dozen 
more  such  men  who  have  sufficient  intelligence  to  perceive  that  their  own  personal  interests 
can  be  best  advanced  in  making  public  improvements. 

As  a  specimen  of  his  style  of  working  for  himself  and  the  public  combined,  we  may  refer 
to  his  straightening  and  extending  State  street.  Formerly  State  street  beyond  Park  avenue. 
turned  at  an  angle  north-westerly.  He  caused  a  change  in  its  direction,  widening  it,  filled 
up  a  swamp  in  his  own  land  and  made  a  good  firm  road  across  it,  moved  one  lariie  block  of 
houses,  and  spent  some  $12.000  in  the  operation,  thus  making  a  fine  public  improvement 
which  will  be  beneficial  to  the  city  as  long  as  the  city  lasts.  All  this  he  did  without  calling 
for  aid  outside  ot  his  own  pocket.  But  in  doing  this  he  saw  that  the  street  when  extended 
beyond  would  greatly  enhance  the  value  of  his  property  and  yield  hi;n  a  rich  return,  perhaps 
at  no  distant  day.  This  is  his  usual  mode  of  working,  and  though  private  interests  may 
prompt  his  action,  yet  he  so  works  in  all  his  improvements  that  the  public  shares  very 
largely  in  the  accruing  advantages.  Any  city  is  blessed  which  has  su-h  intelligent  persona 
Whose  motto  is  "to  do  good  and  make  money  "  without  being  so  »ellish  as  to  refruiu  from 


304  AMONG   MY   FBIEND8  AND   NEIGHBORS. 

any  work  beojnee  they  do  not  get  all  the  good  that  comes  from  their  venture.   It  to  for  sncb 
deeds  that  the  citizens  of  Bridgeport  have  worthily  honored  Mr.  Barnum. 

The  American  Register,  published  in  Paris,  in  its  issue  of  July  11,  1874,  speak- 
ing of  this  dinner,  says: 

The  press,  the  pnlpit,  the  bench  and  bar  were  all  liberally  represented.  It  may  seem 
strange  to  Europeans  that  such  distinguished  men  should  accept  invitations  to  a  dinner  in 
honor  of  a  common  showman,  as  Mr.  Baruum  is  too  often  called ;  but  their  surprise  will 
cease  when  we  tell  them  what  that  gentleman  really  is.  True,  he  is>  a  showman,  but  he  is 
also  a  man  of  considerable  personal  acquirements,  of  great  public  spirit,  and  a  good  citizen. 
Ue  is  an  excellent  representative  of  the  indomitable  strength  and  energy  of  our  young  nation. 
Moreover,  he  is  a  man  of  great  generosity,  and  knows  how  to  spend  money  as  well  as  to 
make  it.  By  this  we  mean  that  he  spends  it  in  a  way  which  tends  to  the  public  good.  There 
are  very  few  men  who  have  ever  known  Mr.  Baruum  who  would  not  have  been  pleased  to 
join  in  a  dinner  given  to  him,  and  since  we  were  not  able  to  be  present  on  the  occasion,  we 
are  happy  to  pay  our  tribute  in  another  form  to  that  liberal-minded  and  large-hearted  man 

LINES 

IC3S1CSTED  BY  A  DRIVE  TO  P.  T.  BARNUJt'S  PLACE  (WALDEMERE)  AT  SKA-SIDE  PARK,  BRLIM* 
PORT,  CONN.,  PIVB  TEARS  AFTER  ITS  COMPLETION. 

FAIR  Waldemerel  Thou  gem  of  art  and  nature, 

Glorified  by  breath  of  June  like  emerald 

Iii  diamond  setting  1    With  thy  rich  robe 

Of  verdure  and  sparkling  waves 

Of  ocean  dancing  round  thy 

Borders— glancing  and  Hashing  in  the 

Sunlight,  meet  setting  for  a  spot 

So  fair!    The  stranger's  eye 

Ilesteth  upon  thee  as  some  surprising 

Scene  of  marvelous  beauty,  bursting 

Upon  the  gaze  with  all  thy  ease 

And  grace  of  architecture, 

Adorned  with  fountain,  statuette  and 

Floral  vase,  each  in  its  favorite  niche 

In  favored  Waldemere— 

Well  chosen  spot! 

By  sea-side  murmuring — and  well 
Combined  its  mansion  of  palatial 
Structure,  rearing  its  grand 
Proportions  with  many  varied 
Turrets,  in  graceful  dignity, 
Floating  aloft,  its  silken  banner 
Waves  from  crowning  tower, 
Bearing  its  owner's  monogram 
On  its  proud  silken  folds. 

•  •  •  *  *  * 

No  need  in  statue  bronze  of  stalwart 
Indian,  with  springing  wolf  at  feet 
And  tomahawk  in  hand. 
To  guard  thy  entrance,  fair  Waldemere, 
For  who  would  mar  such  scene 
Of  beauty,  made  for  the  eye  to 
Feast  upon?    Who  could  defile  thy 
Precincts,  or  with  evil  wish  to 
Harm  thee,  while  witli  inviting 
Aspect  such  harmony  of  art  and 
Nature  greets  the  human  vision? 

Dark  and  unlighted  be  the 
Heart,  which  ruthlessly  would  violate 
Such  type  of  Paradise. 

Farewell,  sweet  Waldemere: 
I  ne'er  may  look  upon  thy  face  again. 
But  I  will  leave  the  token  of  a  stranger's 
Benediction,  for  the  ray  of  happiness 
And  sunshine  thou  hast  unconscious 
Shed  upon  the  traveler's  heart. 

H.  E.  a. 

BIUDOEPOKT,  June,  1874. 


CHAPTER    XLIX. 

HIPPODROMICAL,   HYMENEAL  AND   MUNICIPAL. 

IN  July,  1374,  immense  canvas  tents  were  made  of  sufficient  capacity  to  accjom 
modate  all  my  great  Roman  Hippodrome  performances.  These  tents,  with  the 
expense  of  removing  the  whole  Hippodrome  establishment  to  Boston  for  a  three 
weeks'  exhibition,  cost  me  nearly  fifty  thousand  dollars.  During  the  three  weeks' 
exhibition  in  Boston,  the  tents  were  crowded  each  afternoon  and  evening  with 
the  most  delighted  audiences.  Excursion  trains  on  all  the  railroads  leading  to 
Boston  brought  thousands  of  visitors  to  the  Hippodrome  every  day,  and  the  Boston 
and  New  England  papers,  secular  and  religious,  without  exception,  were  loud  in 
praise  of  what  all  acknowledged  to  be  by  far  the  most  gorgeous,  extensive,  instruc- 
tive and  expensive  traveling  exhibition  of  which  we  have  any  record. 

From  Boston  the  entire  Hippodrome  was  transported  by  railroad  to  Philadel- 
phia, where  a  success  was  achieved  fully  equal  to  that  in  Boston.  The  Hippo- 
drome afterwards  visited  Baltimore,  Pittsburgh  and  Cincinnati,  everywhere 
drawing  immense  crowds,  and  opened  again  in  my  great  Hippodrome  building  in 
New  York,  in  November,  where,  for  several  months,  it  afforded  a  treat  to  the 
American  public  that  will  probably  not  be  witnessed  again  in  this  generation.  I 
am  confident  that  nothing  less  than  my  reputation  for  forty  years  as  a  liberal 
caterer  for  public  instruction  and  amusement,  would  have  brought  a  paying 
response  to  my  efforts.  The  great  religious  community  aided  mostly  in  sustain- 
ing this  hazardous  enterprise. 

In  the  autumn  of  1874  I  married  again.  My  second  wife  is  the  daughter  of  my 
old  English  friend,  John  Fish,  Esq.,  whom  I  have  embalmed  in  the  thirty-second 
chapter  of  this  book,  under  the  title  of  "An  Enterprising  Englishman."  We 
were  married  in  the  Church  of  the  Divine  Paternity,  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York, 
oy  my  old  and  esteemed  friend,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Chapin,  in  the  presence  of  members 
of  my  family  and  a  large  gathering  of  gratified  friends.  After  a  brief  bridal 
tour,  our  wedding  receptions  were  attended  at  Waldemere. 

In  December,  1874,  His  Majesty,  David  Kalakau,  King  of  the  Sandwich  Islands, 
visited  New  York.  I  invited  the  king  and  his  suite  to  attend  the  Hippodrome, 
which  they  did  on  the  afternoon  of  December  26th.  During  the  entire  perform- 
ance I  was  seated  by  the  side  of  the  king,  who  kept  up  a  pleasant  conversation 
with  me  for  a  couple  of  hours.  I  took  occasion  to  remind  him  that  this  was  by  no 
means  the  first  time  I  had  had  the  honor  of  "entertaining "  royalty,  as  he  would 
see  from  my  book — a  handsome  presentation  copy  of  which  he  had  accepted  from 
me  on  Christmas  day.  He  expressed  himself  highly  delighted  with  my  enter- 
tainment, and  said  he  was  always  fond  of  horses  and  racing.  Some  twelve 
thousand  persons  were  present,  and  when  the  exhibitions  were  about  half  finished 
they  called  loudly ' '  The  King !  The  King ! "  Turning  to  me,  His  Majesty  inquired 
the  meaning  of  this.  I  replied :  "  Your  Majesty,  this  vast  audience  undoubtedly 
wishes  to  give  you  an  ovation.  This  building  is  so  large  that  they  cannot  dis- 
tinctly see  Your  Majesty  from  every  part,  and  are  anxious  that  you  should  ride 
around  the  circle  in  order  that  they  may  greet  you." 

305 


306  HIPPODROMICAL,   HYMENEAL  AND  MUNICIPAL. 

The  king  looked  surprised,  and  presently  the  audience  commenced  cailiug  "  The 
King  |  Barnum  I  Barnum  1  The  King  1 "  At  that  moment  my  open  barouche 
was  driven  into  the  circle  and  approached  where  we  were  sitting. 

"  No  doubt  Your  Majesty  would  greatly  gratify  my  countrymen,"  1  remarked, 
"if  you  would  kindly  step  into  this  carriage  with  me  and  ride  around  the  circle." 

The  king  immediately  arose,  and,  amid  tremendous  cheering,  he  stepped  into 
the  carriage.  I  took  a  seat  by  his  side,  and  he  smilingly  remarked,  sotto  voce  : 
"  We  are  all  actors." 

The  audience  rose  to  their  feet,  cheered  and  waved  their  handkerchiefs  as  the 
king  rode  around  the  circle,  raising  his  hat  and  bowing.  The  excitement  was 
indeed  tremendous.  The  king  remained  till  all  the  performances  were  finished, 
and  expressed  himself  as  greatly  pleased  with  the  whole  entertainment.  A 
prominent  New  York  paper,  in  speaking  of  this  event,  said : 

"  Of  course  Americans  see  no  Impropriety  in  King  Kalnkan's  responding  to  the  public  call 
to  show  himself  to  the  multitude  by  riding  around  the  Hippodrome  ring.  Had  ;m  American 
President  or  other  distinguished  American  gentleman  thus  responded,  it  would  have  been 
considered  as  quite  the  thing  in  this  republican  country.  To  Europeans,  however,  it  will 
look  very  different.  They  will  be  astonished  that  any  man  on  earth  would  have  had  the 
presumption  to  propose  making  a  show  of  a  living  monarch,  albeit  his  kingdom  may  not  be 
the  most  extensive  in  the  world,  and  we  confess  that,  in  our  opinion,  the  only  human  being 
on  the  footstool  who  would  have  the  temerity  to  show  up  a  king  is  our  worthy  countryman, 
Phineas  T.  Barnum." 

I  trust  that  King  Kalakau  saw  no  "  temerity  "  in  my  proposition.  At  all  events, 
he  seemed  to  enjoy  his  reception,  and  so  did  I,  and,  as  they  say  in  whist,  "the 
honors  are  easy." 

It  is  said  that  "  It  never  rams  but  it  pours."  and  just  at  this  time  I  was  visited 
by  a  shower  of  royalty  and  nobility.  The  King  of  Hawaii  had  scarcely  left 
New  York  before  I  received  an  invitation  to  breakfast  with  Lord  Rosebery  at  the 
Brevoort  House,  Fifth  Avenue.  Lord  Rosebery  is  a  prominent  member  of  the 
British  Parliament,  where  he  sits  as  Baron  Rosebery.  The  invitation  stated  that 
his  Lordship  would  sail  for  England  on  the  twenty-seventh  of  January,  and  that 
having  seen  most  of  our  country,  and  its  "lions,"  he  did  not  like  to  leave  •without 
having  an  interview  with  Barnum.  I  accepted  the  invitation.  The  breakfast 
came  off  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  January  26th,  and  I  need  scarcely  say 
that  it  was  a  most  dainty,  delightful  and  recherche  affair.  Only  one  gentleman 
besides  his  Lordship  was  present.  I  found  my  host  a  very  intelligent  gentleman. 
He  had  been  in  America  once  before,  and  he  seemed  well  "posted"  in  regard  to 
our  country  and  its  institutions.  He  said  he  had  read  my  autobiography,  and 
had  witnessed  with  amazement  and  delight  the  scenes  at  my  Roman  Hippodrome. 
These  enhanced  his  desire  to  see  "the  man  who  was  so  celebrated  throughout  the 
world  for  the  magnitude  and  perfection  of  his  enterprises  as  a  caterer  for  public 
gratification." 

I  accepted  the  compliment  as  gracefully  as  I  could,  and  we  were  soon  convers- 
ing socially  without  restraint  on  either  side.  Lord  Rosebery  is  a  good  story-teller, 
and,  what  is  still  more  pleasing  to  a  loquacious  old  traveler  like  myself,  he  is  a 
capital  listener.  While  discussing  the  luxurious  meal,  we  interchanged  amusing 
anecdotes  and  personal  experiences,  some  of  mine  so  tickling  bis  lordship's  keen 
sense  of  humor  that,  more  than  once,  he  pushed  back  his  chair  from  the  table 
and  gave  vent  to  his  hilarity  in  hearty,  unrestrained  laughter. 

After  a  couple  of  hours  we  parted,  exchanging  photographs  and  autographs. 
His  lordship  expressed  himself  highly  pleased  with  the  interview,  and  politely 
added  that  he  hoped  to  meet  me  in  England,  whenever  T  shall  carry  out  my 
intention  of  taking  a  great  show  to  that  country. 


HIPPODROMICAL,   HYMENEAL  AND   MUNICIPAL.  307 

In  March,  1S75,  the  nomination  for  Mayor  of  the  city  of  Bridgeport  was  ten- 
dered me  by  a  committee  from  the  Republican  party,  but  I  declined  until  assured 
by  prominent  members  of  the  opposition  that  my  nomination  was  intended  as  a 
compliment,  and  that  both  parties  would  sustain  it.  Politically,  the  w  ty  is  largely 
democratic,  but  I  led  the  republican  ticket,  and  was  elected,  April  5th,  by  several 
hundred  majority.  On  the  twelfth  of  April  the  newly  elected  Common  Council 
held  its  first  meeting,  on  which  occasion  I  delivered  the  following  Inaugural 
Address: 

GENTLEMEN  OK  THE  COMMON  COUNCIL  : 

intrusted  as  we  are,  by  the  votes  of  our  fellow-citizens,  with  the  care  and  man- 
agement of  their  interests,  it  behooves  us  to  endeavor  to  merit  the  confidence 
reposed  in  us.  We  are  sometimes  called  the  "fathers  of  the  city."  Certainly  our 
duty  is,  and  our  pleasure  should  be,  to  administer  the  municipal  government  as  a 
good  and  wise  father  conducts  his  household,  caring  for  all,  partial  to  none.  No 
personal  f eelings  should  dictate  our  official  acts.  We  are  not  placed  here  to  gratify 
personal  or  party  resentment,  nor  to  extend  personal  or  party  favor  in  any 
manner  that  may  in  the  remotest  degree  conflict  with  the  best  interests  of  our 
city.  As  citizens  we  enjoy  a  great  common  interest.  Each  individual  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  body  corporate,  and  no  member  can  be  unduly  favored  or  unjustly 
oppressed  without  injury  to  the  entire  community.  No  person  or  party  can  afford 
to  be  dishonest.  Honesty  is  always  the  best  policy,  for  "  with  what  measure  ye 
mete  it  shall  be  measured  to  you  again." 

A  large  portion  of  this  honorable  body  are  now  serving  officially  for  the  first 
time,  and  therefore  may  not  be  fully  acquainted  with  the  details  of  its  workings ; 
but  we  are  all  acquainted  with  the  great  principles  of  Justice  and  Right.  If  we 
fail  to  work  according  to  these  eternal  principles,  we  betray  the  confidence  placed 
in  us,  and  this  our  year  of  administration  will  be  remembered  with  disappro- 
bation and  contempt. 

Let  us  bring  to  our  duties  careful  judgment  and  comprehensive  views  with 
regard  to  expenditure,  so  that  we  may  be  neither  parsimonious  nor  extravagant, 
but,  like  a  prudent  householder,  ever  careful  that  expenses  shall  be  less  than  the 
income. 

Our  city  is  peculiarly  adapted  for  commercial  purposes ;  it  should  be  our  care 
therefore  to  adopt  such  measures  as  tend  to  promote  trade,  manufactures  and 
commerce.  Its  delightful  and  healthy  locality  makes  it  also  a  desirable  place  of 
residence.  We  should  strive  to  enhance  its  natural  beauty,  to  improve  our  streets 
and,  with  moderate  expenditure,  to  embellish  our  parks,  by  which  means  we 
shall  attract  refined  and  wealthy  residents. 

As  conservators  of  the  public  peace  and  morals  it  is  our  duty  to  prevent,  so  far 
as  possible,  acts  which  disturb  one  or  the  other,  and  to  enforce  the  laws  in  an 
impartial  and  parental  spirit. 

The  last  report  of  our  Chief  of  Police  says :  "  'Tis  a  sad  and  painful  duty,  yet 
candor  compels  us  to  state  that  at  least  ninety  per  cent,  of  the  causes  of  all  the 
arrests  during  the  year  are  directly  traceable  to  the  immoderate  use  of  intoxi- 
cating liquors,  not  to  speak  of  the  poverty  and  misery  it  has  caused  families 
which  almost  daily  come  under  our  observation." 

In  the  town  of  Vineland,  N.  J.,  where  no  intoxicating  drinks  are  sold,  the  over- 
seer of  the  poor  stated  in  his  annual  report  that  in  a  population  of  10,000  there 
was  but  one  indictment  in  six  months,  and  that  the  entire  police  expenses  were 
but  seventy-five  dollars!  per  year,  the  sum  paid  to  him,  and  the  poor  expenses  a 


308  HIPPODROMICAL,   HYMENEAL  AND   MUNICIPAL. 

mere  trifle.  He  further  says :  "  We  practically  have  no  debt,  and  our  taxes  are 
only  one  per  cent  on  the  valuation."  Similar  results  are  reported  in  the  town  of 
Greeley,  Colorado,  where  no  liquors  are  sold. 

Our  laws  license  the  sale  of  intoxicating  drinks  under  certain  restrictions  on 
week  days,  but  no  man  can  claim  the  right  under  such  license  to  cause  mobs, 
riots,  bloodshed  or  murder.  Hence  no  man  has,  or  can  have,  any  right  by  license 
or  otherwise  to  dispense  liquors  to  intoxicated  persons,  nor  to  furnish  sufficient 
liquor  to  cause  intoxication.  Our  duty  is  therefore  to  see  that  the  police  aid  in 
regulating  to  the  extent  of  their  legal  power  a  traffic  which  our  laws  do  not 
wholly  prohibit.  Spirituous  liquors  of  the  present  day  are  so  much  adulterated 
and  doubly  poisoned  that  their  use  fires  the  brain  and  drives  their  victims  to 
madness,  violence  and  murder.  The  money  annually  expended  for  intoxicating 
drinks,  and  the  cost  of  their  evil  results  in  Bridgeport  or  any  other  American 
city  where  liquor-selling  is  licensed,  would  pay  the  entire  expenses  of  the  city  (if 
liquors  were  not  drank),  including  the  public  schools,  give  a  good  suit  of  clothes 
to  every  poor  person  of  both  sexes,  a  barrel  of  flour  to  every  poor  family  living 
within  its  municipal  boundaries,  and  leave  a  handsome  surplus  on  hand.  Our 
enormous  expenses  for  the  trial  and  punishment  of  criminals,  as  well  as  for  the 
support  of  the  poor,  are  mainly  caused  by  this  traffic.  Surely  then  it  is  our  duty 
to  do  all  we  can,  legally,  to  limit  and  mitigate  its  eviL  As  no  person  ever  became 
a  drunkard  who  did  not  sincerely  regret  that  he  or  she  ever  tasted  intoxicating 
drinks,  it  is  a  work  of  mercy,  as  well  as  justice,  to  do  all  in  our  power  to  lessen 
this  leprous  hindrance  to  happiness.  We  should  strive  to  exterminate  gambling, 
prostitution  and  other  crimes  which  have  not  yet  attained  to  the  dignity  of  a 
"license." 

The  public  health  demands  that  we  should  pay  attention  to  necessary  drainage, 
and  prevent  the  sale  of  adulterated  food.  The  invigorating  breezes  from  Long 
Island  Sound,  and  the  absence  of  miasmatic  marshes  serve  to  make  ours  one  of 
the  most  healthy  cities  in  America.  Scientific  experiments  made  daily  during 
the  whole  of  last  year  have  established  the  fact  that  our  atmosphere  is  impreg- 
nated with  OZONE,  or  concentrated  oxygen,  to  an  extent  not  hitherto  discovered 
on  this  continent.  No  city  of  the  same  size  in  America,  is  so  extensively  known 
throughout  our  own  land  and  in  Europe  as  Bridgeport.  It  should  be  our  pleasure 
to  strengthen  all  natural  advantages  which  we  possess  as  a  city  by  maintaining  a 
government  of  corresponding  excellence. 

A  plentiful  supply  of  pure  water  is  necessary  to  the  health  of  a  city.  Experi- 
ence has  proved  that  the  city  should  own  and  control  the  Water  Works,  or  require 
the  Water  Company  to  furnish  a  regular  and  reliable  supply  sufficient  for  the 
wants  and  necessities  of  the  people.  I  invite  your  most  serious  and  disinterested 
consideration  of  "the  water  question." 

The  custom  of  selling  fruits  and  vegetables  by  measure  tempts  to  fraud,  and  I 
earnestly  recommend  that  the  practice  of  selling  these  products  by  weight  be 
adopted  in  this  city . 

Every  employee  of  the  city  should  be  strictly  held  to  perform  the  duty  assigned 
and  to  earn  the  money  paid  him.  We  should  support  no  drones. 

All  condemned  prisoners  should  be  kept  continually  employed,  and  thus  made 
to  contribute  to  their  own  support,  and  the  expenses  incurred  by  their  wrong 
doing. 


HIPPODBOMIOAL,  HYMENEAL  AND  MUNICIPAL.  309 

As  cleanliness  Is  conducive  alike  to  health  and  morality,  I  recommend  that  we 
stablish  one  or  more  floating  baths,  a  portion  of  which  might  be  free,  and  the 
rest  subject  to  a  small  charge,  which  would  nearly  or  quite  cover  the  expense  of 
the  whole. 

As  the  city  at  certain  periods  is  obliged  to  borrow  money  on  which  it  pays 
interest,  I  advise  that  at  seasons  when  the  city  treasury  has  a  surplus,  we  shall, 
as  is  customary  in  other  cities,  place  this  money  where  it  will  draw  interest  until 
needed. 

It  is  painful  to  the  industrious  and  moral  portions  of  our  people  to  see  so  many 
loungers  about  the  streets,  and  such  a  multitude  whose  highest  aspirations  seem 
to  be  to  waste  their  time  in  idleness  or  at  base  ball,  billiards,  &c. 

No  person  needs  to  be  unemployed  who  is  not  over  fastidious  about  the  kind  of 
occupation.  There  are  too  many  soft  hands  (and  heads)  waiting  for  light  work 
and  heavy  pay.  Better  work  for  half  a  loaf  than  beg  or  steal  a  whole  one. 
Mother  earth  is  always  near  by,  and  ready  to  respond  to  reasonable  drafts  on  her 
never-failing  treasury.  A  patch  of  potatoes  raised  "on  shares  "  is  preferable  to 
a  poulticed  pate  earned  in  a  whisky  scrimmage.  Some  modern  Micawbers  stand 
with  folded  hands  waiting  for  the  panic  to  pass,  as  the  foolish  man  waited  for  the 
river  to  run  dry  and  allow  him  to  walk  over. 

The  soil  is  the  foundation  of  American  prosperity.  When  multitudes  of  our 
consumers  become  producers ;  when  fashion  teaches  economy,  instead  of  expend- 
ing for  a  gaudy  dress  what  would  comfortably  clothe  the  family ;  when  people 
learn  to  walk  until  they  can  afford  to  ride ;  when  the  poor  man  ceases  to  spend 
more  for  tobacco  than  for  bread ;  when  those  who  complain  of  panics  learn  that 
"  we  cannot  eat  our  cake  and  keep  it,"  that  a  sieve  will  not  hold  water,  that  we 
must  rely  on  our  own  exertions  and  earn  before  we  expend,  then  will  panics  cease 
and  prosperity  return.  While  we  should  by  no  means  unreasonably  restrict 
healthy  recreation,  we  should  remember  that  "time  is  money,"  that  idleness 
leads  to  immoral  habits,  and  that  the  peace,  prosperity  and  character  of  a  city 
depend  on  the  intelligence,  integrity,  industry  and  frugality  of  its  inhabitants. 

Frank  Leslie's  Illustrated  Newspaper  of  July  24th,  contained  a  picture  entitled 
"  His  HONOR  P.  T.  BARNUM,  MAYOR  OF  BRIDGEPORT,  PRESIDING  AT  A  MEETING 
OF  THE  COMMON  COUNCIL  OF  THAT  CITY."  The  editor's  remarks  are  as  follows : 

Mayor  Barounrs  message  was  a  model  of  brevity  and  practical  thought.  Having  at  the 
beginning  of  his  official  career  declared  war  against  the  whisky  dealers,  he  next  proceeded 
to  open  the  struggle.  For  twenty  years  the  saloons  had  been  kept  open  on  Sundays,  and  it 
was  declared  impossible  to  close  them.  Mr.  Barnum  has  all  his  life  acted  upon  the  quaint 
French  aphorism  that  "nothing  is  BO  possible  as  the  impossible."  He  gave  notice  that  the 
saloons  must  be  closed.  A  select  committee  of  citizens  volunteered  to  aid  in  collecting 
testimony  in  case  the  sellers  should  disregard  the  proclamation,  and  leave  the  latch-string 
to  their  back  doors  displayed  on  the  outside.  Although  the  doors  were  open,  the  keepers 
refused  to  sell  except  to  personal  friends.  The  committee-men  stood  opposite  the  saloons, 
and  took  the  names  of  a  dozen  or  so  who  were  admitted.  The  next  morning  the  saloon- 
keepers were  arrested,  and  when  they  found  their  "  friends  "  had  been  subpoenaed  to  appear 
as  witnesses,  they  pleaded  guilty  and  immediately  brought  out  their  pocket-books  to  pay 
the  judicial  "  shot."  This  plan  effectually  broke  up  Sunday  traffic  in  liquor,  thus  insuring 
a  quiet  day  for  the  citizens,  and  greatly  accommodating  the  saloon-keepers,  the  best  portion 
of  whom  really  favor  a  general  closing  on  Sunday. 

His  next  reform  was  directed  against  a  private  gas  corporation  that  had  been  lighting  the 
streets  at  a  flgure  that  he  deemed  exorbitant.  A  contract  was  made  with  a  Boston  portable 
gas  company,  by  which  the  cost  of  keeping  the  city  bright  at  night  was  reduced  one-half. 

But  the  most  striking  of  all  was  his  action  against  the  water-works  corporation,  of  which 
he  was,  with  one  exception  the  largest  stockholder.  He  denounced  the  management  severely 
for  not  keeping  good  faith  with  the  city  under  the  charter  giveu  it,  and  appointed  a  com- 
mittee of  investigation.  A  report  was  submitted  with  a  recommendation  that  the  corporation 
be  sued  and  deprived  of  its  local  privilege  if  It  did  not  immediately  conform  to  the  letter  of 
its  agreement,  and  Mr.  Barnum  promptly  concurred  in  the  recommendation.  Hn  also 
appointed  a  Retrenchment  Committee,  through  the  investigation  of  which  he  expects  to 
•Heel  a  still  further  reduction  of  local  expenses. 


310  HIPPODROMICAL,  HYMENEAL  AND   MUNICIPAL. 

This  Is  good  work  for  two  months,  and  the  citizens  have  a  grateful  appreciation  of  this 
new  phase  of  his  joking  propensities.  Although  now  sixty-five  years  of  age,  the  same 
patient  industry  that  has  made  him  the  prince  of  entertainers,  marks  all  his  official  actions. 
He  ia  honest,  impartial,  laborions  ;  far-seeing,  judicious  and  sanguine.  Care  finds  as  firm  a 
resting-place  upon  him  as  water  does  on  a  duck's  back. 

By  nature  an  organizer  of  men  and  systems,  he  in  his  own  best  executive  officer.  No  one 
knows  so  well  as  he  how  men  may  be  best  governed,  and  no  one  can  so  pleasantly  polish  on 
the  rough  sides  of  mankind.  Successful  beyond  the  usual  measure  as  an  intelligent,  courte- 
ous and  considerate  showman,  he  has  already  prored  himself  the  most  acceptable  of  mayors. 

During  my  administration  as  Mayor,  I  had  occasion  three  times  to  veto  cer- 
tain propositions  of  the  Common  Council. 

At  the  dawn  of  the  second  century  of  our  national  existence  I  issued  the 
following  proclamation,  and  was  glad  to  see  that  my  suggestions  were  patrioti- 
cally and  enthusiastically  carried  out  by  my  constituents : 

MAYOR'S  OFFICE,  BRIDGEPORT,  CT.,  Dec.  30,  1875. 
To  THB  CITIZENS  OF  BRIDGEPORT: 

The  experiment  of  a  people  governing  themselves  has  been  tried  on  this  conti- 
nent for  a  huudred  years.  During  this  period,  and  under  this  rule,  we  have 
grown  to  such  proportions,  prosperity  and  power,  as  has  never  been  attained  in 
a  century  by  any  nation  under  monarchical  government.  As  a  nation  we  owe 
unbounded  gratitude  to  the  Fathers  of  the  Republic  who  by  toil,  sacrifice  and 
blood,  planted  the  seed  of  this  great  and  free  nation. 

As  citizens  of  one  of  the  most  prosperous,  delightful  and  healthy  cities  in 
Puritan  New  England,  I  know  you  will  rejoice  to  recognize  in  some  befitting 
manner  the  beginning  of  the  second  century  of  our  great  and  noble  Republic. 

I  recommend,  therefore,  that  a  national  salute  be  fired,  the  bells  of  our  city  be 
rung  for  half  an  hour,  beginning  at  midnight  of  Friday,  and  that  Saturday,  the 
birthday  of  our  centennial  year,  be  celebrated  with  even  greater  demonstrations 
of  joy  and  enthusiasm  than  marks  our  anniversary  of  American  Independence. 
Especially  do  I  request  that  the  national  emblem  shall  adorn  our  public  buildings, 
and  that  all  citizens  shall  display  the  American  flag  from  their  residences  and 
places  of  business. 

P.  T.  BARNUM,  Mayor. 

My  Hippodrome,  in  1875,  was  transported  by  rail  throughout  the  United  States, 
going  as  far  east  as  Portland,  Maine,  and  west  to  Kansas  City,  Missouri  It 
proved  a  tolerably  successful  season,  notwithstanding  the  depressed  state  of 
finances  generally. 

It  gives  me  pain  to  record  that  our  aeronaut,  Professor  Donaldson,  having 
made  his  daily  balloon  ascension  on  Thursday,  July  15.  from  our  Hippodrome 
grounds  at  Chicago,  was  uever  heard  from  afterwards.  He  took  with  him  Mr.  N. 
S.  Grimwood,  a  reporter  of  the  Chicago  Journal,  whose  body  was  found  in  Lake 
Michigan  a  few  weeks  afterwards.  Prof.  Donaldson  was  doubtless  drowned 
during  the  terrible  storm  which  occurred  on  the  night  of  the  ascension.  He  was 
a  man  of  excellent  habits,  clear  brain  and  steady  nerve,  fearless,  but  not 
reckless,  and  respected  by  all  who  knew  him.  His  last  was  his  138th  ascension. 

A  couple  of  newspaper  extracts,  which  are  but  a  fair  specimen  of  hundreds, 
will  give  an  inkling  of  the  enthusiasm  with  which  my  latest  amusement  enterprise 
was  greeted  throughout  the  entire  country: 


HIPPODROMICAL,  HYMENEAL  AND  MUNICIPAL.  311 

[From  the  Providence  (£.  I.)  Journal,  May  13,  1875.] 

Phineas  Taylor  Barnnm's  Great  Roman  Hippodrome  arrived  yesterday  as  per  announce- 
ent,  and  after  a  parade  through  the  streets,  that  awakened  everybody  to  a  sense  of  Us 

magnitude,  gave  two  exhibitions  on  the  Federal  Street  Common,  which  not  only  called 
[ether  the  largest  audience  ever  seen  in  this  city,  but  furnished  them  with  such 

amusement  and  excitement  as  are  rarely  offered,  and  gave  the  most  thorough  satisfaction. 

[From  the  Troy  Daily  Press,  June,  1875.] 

P.  T.  Barnum  Is  probably  the  only  man  in  the  world  who  can  keep  together  such  a 
-?tr°J?s  show  an,d  make  it  pay,  as  visited  Troy  yesterday.    There  were  two  perform- 


ances began,  so  that  those  who  were  late  were  obliged  to  stand  or  go  away.  Hundreds 
were  turned  away,  because  there  was  not  even  standing  room.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  twenty- 
flve  thousand  people  witnessed  the  pageant.  People  from  the  surrounding  country  for 
thirty  miles  came  on  the  cars,  on  horseback,  and  in  wagons.  The  blockade  of  vehicles  of 
every  description  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile  around  the  tents  was  unprecedented  in  this  city 
Everybody  was  pleased.  Thousands,  we  might  say,  were  so  well  pleased  with  the  after- 
noon performance  that  they  staid  on  the  ground  until  evening  and  went  in  again.  Some 
had  lunches  with  them,  and  spread  themselves  out  on  the  grass  and  waited  for  night.  The 
programme  is  too  long  to  mention  in  detail.  But  there  are  scores  of  Interesting  and  thrill- 
ing acts  which  should  be  seen  by  everybody.  Those  who  did  not  see  the  great  show  here 
yesterday  missed  an  important  event  in  their  lives. 

About  the  middle  of  June  I  visited  Niagara  Falls  with  Mrs.  Barnum  and 
several  friends,  including  Misses  Pattie  and  Julia  Hutchinson,  of  Southport, 
England,  former  neighbors  of  my  wife,  who  were  our  guests  during  the  summer. 
Leaving  our  friends  at  Niagara,  my  wife  accompanied  me  to  Akron,  Ohio,  where 
my  Traveling  World's  Fair  was  to  exhibit.  On  our  arrival,  the  night  before  the 
show  was  to  come,  the  Mayor  of  Akron  waited  on  us.  We  were  invited  to  a 
•  concert  (where,  in  response  to  loud  calls,  I  gave  a  short  speech),  and  were  after- 
wards serenaded  at  the  hotel.  The  next  morning  I  was  escorted  to  Buchtel  Col- 
lege by  its  noble-hearted  founder,  Mr.  J.  R.  Buchtel,  and  an  old  friend,  Rev.  D. 
C.  Tomlinson.  The  students  would  not  let  me  off  without  a  speech.  I  gave 
them  a  few  off-hand  remarks  which  I  hope  may  prove  beneficial  to  some  of  my 
auditors.  Returning  to  Buffalo  we  rejoined  our  friends,  whom  we  left  at  Niagara, 
and  there,  too,  I  met  the  Hippodrome,  which  remained  a  couple  of  days.  Early 
on  the  morning  of  the  second  day  I  despatched  a  special  train  to  Niagara  Falls 
with  some  hundreds  of  our  Hippodrome  company,  to  whom  I  was  glad  to  give 
this  first  opportunity  of  seeing  the  great  Cataract.  Our  band  accompanied  them, 
crossed  the  Suspension  Bridge  to  Canada,  playing  "  God  Save  the  Queen  "  and 
"Yankee  Doodle,"  and  returned  to  Buffalo  in  time  for  the  afternoon  exhibition. 
In  July  I  visited  the  Hippodrome  at  Chicago  and  St.  Louis,  being  ten  days  absent 
from  home.  I  spent  most  of  the  summer  at  Waldeinere,  looking  after  the 
interests  of  the  city,  and  enjoying  the  season  heartily  with  my  family  and 
friends.  Our  clam-bakes,  picnics,  charming  country  rides,  weekly  concerts  in 
Sea-Side  Park  by  our  two  best  city  bands,  and  numerous  other  pleasures  in  this 
most  healthy  and  delightful  locality,  were  extremely  enjoyable,  and  caused  the 
time  to  fly  much  more  rapidly  than  we  wished. 

[From  the  Baltimore  Saturday  Night,  March  6,  1875.] 
BAKNUM  AND  HIS  BOOK. 

On  last  Siiiidiij  night  a  rather  novel  lecture,  both  as  to  theme  and  handling,  was  delivered 
by  Henry  Hikert,  Esq.,  at  the  hall  of  the  Turn  Verein  Vorwaerta  on  Kayette  street.  The 
large  hall  was  crowded  with  ladies  and  gentlemen,  belonging  largely  to  the  more  educated 
and  refined  class  of  Germans,  and  the  audience  lias  ing  acquaintance  with  the  orator  through 
(he  medium  of  several  lectures  delivered  last  year  anticipated  an  instructive  and  agreeable 


312  HIPPODBOMICAL,  HYMENEAL  AND   MUNICIPAL. 

entertainment.  We  are  pleased  to  agree  with  the  German  daily  papers  of  our  citj  in  the 
statement  that  the  expectations  of  all  who  were  present  were  more  than  realized. 

Mr.  Hilgert  took  for  his  text  "  Barnum  and  his  Book." 

After  an  interesting  introduction  of  his  subject,  in  which  he  dwelt  with  caustic  severity 
upon  the  weakness  of  those  who  run  into  hasty  judgment  of  men  and  their  works  without 
really  knowing  anything  about  them,  the  lecturer  said  :  "As  I  know  of  no  book  which  is 
better  adapted  to  become  a  thoroughly  instructive  and  agreeable  guide  through  life,  for  the 
youths  of  our  country,  than  the  record  and  experiences  of  the  exemplarily  industrious, 
intelligent,  strictly  honest  and  moral  citizen,  Phineas  Taylor  Barnum,  I  will  devote  my  to- 
day's address  to  him  and  his  book."  Charity  Barnum,  the  showman's  first  wife,  was  very 
pighly  spoken  of,  and  recommended  to  the  ladies  as  a  wife,  mother  and  companion  worth 
imitating. 

Mr.  Hilgert,  after  giving  some  of  Barnnm's  anecdotes,  which,  by  the  way,  he  rendered  to 
perfection,  gave  a  graphic  description  of  Barnum's  career  as  a  merchant,  editor,  showman, 
legislator  and  public  lecturer,  and  in  all  was  his  enthusiastic  panegyrist.  In  the  description 
of  Barnum's  seven  years'  hard  work  to  pay  off  over  half  a  million  dollars  indebtedness 
incurred  by  indorsements  for  the  Jerome  Clock  Company,  the  speaker  waxed  warm  and 
eloquent,  and  called  forth  applause  that  testified  fully  to  his  ability  as  an  advocate. 

After  explaining  Barnnm's  manly  behavior  in  great  pecuniary  catastrophes,  and  after 
giving  a  graphic  description  of  Barnum's  suffering  in  Hamburg,  in  1873.  upon  the  arrival 
of  the  news  of  the  death  of  his  beloved  wife,  Mr.  Hilgert  concluded  his  lecture  with  the 
following  words : 

"  I  have  perhaps  detained  yon  longer  than  you  anticipated,  and  certainly  longer  than  1 
should  have  done  if  I  had  been  able  to  compress  the  abundance  of  interesting  material  into 
a  smaller  compass,  and,  at  the  conclusion  of  my  address,  I  give  you  my  thanks  for  your  very 
close  attention,  and  I  pray  you  to  recommend  the  good  citizen,  Phineas  Taylor  Barnum,  to 
your  children  as  an  exemplary  man.  When  you  give  one  of  your  daughters  away  in  matri- 
mony, advise  her  to  imitate  Charity  Barnum;  when  your  son  leaves  home  to  try  his  luck 
upon  the  ocean  of  life,  give  him  Barnnm  for  a  guide ;  when  yon  yourself  are  in  trouble  and 
misery  and  near  desperation,  take  from  Barnum's  life  and  teachings  consolation  and  new 
courage,  and,  after  you  all  have  received  instructive  enjoyment  from  Barnnm's  mind,  heart, 
and  actions,  join  me  in  the  wish  that  the  old  gentleman  in  bis  new  matrimony  may  find 
many  joyful  and  happy  days." 

The  applanse,  which  during  the  lecture  on  several  occasions  was  loud  enough,  was  almost 
deafening  at  its  conclusion. 

During  the  autumn  of  1875,  under  the  auspices  of  "The  Redpath  Lyceum* 
Bureau,"  in  Boston,  I  delivered  about  thirty  times  a  lecture  on  "The  World  and 
How  to  Live  in  It,"  going  as  far  east  as  Thomaston,  Maine,  and  west  to  Leaven- 
worth,  Kansas,  and  including  the  cities  of  Boston,  Portland,  Chicago,  Kansas 
City,  &J.  When  finished,  the  Bureau  wrote  me  as  follows:  "In  parting  for  a 
season,  please  allow  us  to  say  that  none  of  our  best  lecturers  have  succeeded  in 
delighting  our  audiences  and  lecture  committees  so  well  as  yourself." 

On  November  28,  and  following  days,  I  offered  all  my  show  property  at  auc- 
tion. This  included  my  Hippodrome  and  also  my  "  World's  Fair,"  consisting  of 
museum,  menagerie  and  circus  property.  My  object  was  to  get  rid  of  all  surplus 
stock,  and  henceforth  to  have  but  one  traveling  show,  which,  as  ever,  should  be 
as  good  as  money  and  experience  could  make  it.  To  this  end  my  agent  bid  in  all 
such  property  as  I  could  use,  and  now  I  am  properly  prepared  for  our  Centennial 
year.  My  traveling  show  consisted  of  Museum,  Menagerie  and  Circus  of  im- 
mense proportions,  and  I  introduced  patriotic  features  that  gave  the  people  a 
Fourth  of  July  celebration  every  day.  My  establishment  traveled  in  three 
trains  of  railway  cars.  We  took  along  a  battery  of  cannon,  and  every  morn- 
ing we  fired  a  salute  of  thirteen  guns.  We  introduced  groups  of  persons  cos- 
tumed in  the  style  of  our  Continental  troops,  and  supplemented  with  the  Goddess 
of  Liberty,  a  live  eagle  and  some  first-class  singers,  who,  with  a  chorus  of  several 
hundred  voices,  sang  the  "Star  Spangled  Banner"  and  other  patriotic  songs, 
accompanied  with  bands  of  music  and  also  with  cannon  placed  outside  our  tents, 
and  fired  by  means  of  electricity.  We  closed  our  patriotic  demonstration  by 
singing  "America"  ("My  Country,  'Tisof  Thee"),  the  entire  audience  rising  and 
joining  in  the  chorus.  At  night  we  terminated  our  performances  with  fire-works, 
in  which  thrilling  revolutionary  scenes  were  brilliantly  depicted.  Our  grand 


HIPPODROMIOAL,  HYMEffEAL  AND   MUNICIPAL.  '313 

street  procession  was  a  gorgeous  and  novel  feature.  It  began  to  move  when  the 
salute  was  fired,  and  I  depended  upon  the  patriotism  of  each  town  we  visited  to 
add  to  the  effects  of  our  National  Jubilee  by  ringing  of  bells  at  the  same  time.  My 
assistant  managers  were  my  son-in-law,  Mr.  Kurd,  and  Messrs.  Smith  Brothers. 
June  and  Bailey,  late  proprietors  of  the  European  Menagerie  and  Circus,  which 
I  purchased  entire  and  added  to  my  other  attractions.  My  official  term  as  Mayor 
expired  April  3,  1876.  I  peremptorily  refused  a  renomination,  preferring  to 
travel  a  portion  of  the  time  with  my  grand  Centennial  show,  and  meet  face  to 
face  the  millions  of  friends  who,  during  the  last  year,  have  been  ay  generous 
and  I  trust  gratified  patrons. 

The  last  meeting  of  the  Common  Council  under  my  administration  was  held 
Friday  evening,  March  29.  The  Bridgeport  Farmer  of  the  next  day  said: 

The  desks  of  the  members  and  reporters  were  each  adorned  with  a  beautiful  bouquet, 
presented  "  with  the  compliments  "  of  the  Mayor,  and  this  raising  of  municipal  business  to 
a  higher  level  was  evidently  appreciated  by  all  present.  It  was  a  novelty,  but  then  Mayor 
Barnum  made  a  name  by  the  introduction  of  novelties. 

The  New  York  Daily  Graphic  of  March  80  read: 

Mr.  P.  T.  Barnnm,  Mayor  of  Bridgeport,  has  uttered  his  valedictory  message.  The  docu- 
ment is  very  much  like  the  man.  lie  disapproves  of  the  reports  of  the  Chief  of  Police  and 
Clerk  of  the  Police  Commissioners  because  they  declare  that  liquor  saloons  and  brothels 
cannot  be  closed,  and  he  even  reproves  the  latter  for  his  "  flippant  manner  "  of  dealing  with 
the  subject.  Barnum  must  have  his  joke  or  two,  withal,  and  he  can  no  more  subsist  with- 
out his  fun  than  could  a  former  Mayor  of  this  city.  He  ventures  to  allude  in  this  solemn 
document  to  the  management  of  the  New  York  and  New  Haven  Railroad  Company  as  "  the 
good  bishop  and  his  directors ; "  makes  a  first-rate  pnn  on  the  names  of  two  citizens  ;  and 
says  to  the  Aldermen,  "And  now  we  have,  like,  the  Arabs,  only  to  '  fold  our  tents  and 
silently  steal  away.'  congratulating  ourselves  that  this  is  the  only  stealing  which  has  been 
performed  by  this  honorable  body."  Mr.  Barnum's  administration  in  Bridgeport  has  been 
mild,  but  characterized  by  firmness  and  independence.  His  trouble  with  the  Jews  was  of 
short  duration,  for  he  is  most  respectful  towards  all  theologies.  He  has  not  been  able  to 
carry  out  his  extreme  temperance  views ;  but  he  has  made  a  very  good  Mayor  of  a  city  for 
whose  prosperity  he  has  labored  for  half  a  lifetime. 

The  following  extract  is  from  the  Bridgeport  Leader  of  April  5: 

We  do  not  know  of  anyone  connected  with  the  city  government  of  last  year  who  was 
more  pleased  in  being  relieved  of  the  cares  of  office  than  our  late  Mayor,  P.  T.  Barnum. 
That  Mr.  Barnum  could  have  been  re-elected  Mayor  this  year,  had  he  not,  months  ago, 
emphatically  declared  his  intention  to  retire  at  the  close  of  his  official  term,  has  always 
been  our  firm  conviction,  and,  aside  from  this,  that  he  was  about  the  only  one  of  the 
Republican  party  who  could  be. 

He  retires  from  office  voluntarily,  commanding  the  respect  of  his  constituents,  and  fa< 
better  appreciated  for  those  sterling  qualities  of  rigid  independence  and  honest  desire  to 
serve  the  city,  irrespective  of  all  other  considerations,  than  any  Mayor  we  hav«  had  for 
years. 

Prom  the  Bridgeport  /Standard  of  March  30: 

Mayor  Barnum's  Message,  printed  on  the  first  page  of  to-day's  paper,  will  repay  perusal, 
as  he  says  many  things  and  makes  sundry  suggestions  which  if  heeded  will  be  for  the 
benefit  of  the  city.  There  is  no  candid  man  who  will  not  be  pleased  with  more  or  less  of 
his  suggestions,  since  they  are  not  the  clap-trap  of  a  politician,  but  the  utterances  of  an 
old  citizen  of  Bridgeport,  who  has  the  best  interests  of  the  city  at  heart,  and  sincerely 
desires  its  best  prosperity  in  all  things. 

Gen.  Noble,  on  moving  the  printing  of  the  Mayor's  Message,  said : 
"  I  think  it  due  to  the  Mayor  and  to  his  office  to  say  here  that,  however  much  member* 
jf  this  Council  may  have  differed  from  the  Mayor  on  the  subject-matter  of  his  messages, 
no  one  who  has  read  them  will  hesitate  to  accord  to  them  very  marked  ability  and  thor- 
ough study  of  their  topics.  The  message  on  the  subject  of  the  ordinance  amendment, 
which  proposed  to  subject  the  Police  Commissioners  to  the  resolves  of  the  Council,  I  do 
not  think  could  have  been  more  clearly,  tersely  or  exhaustively  presented  by  any  gentle- 
man well  learned  in  th»  law."  . 

14 


314  HIPPODROMICAL,    HYMENEAL  AND    MUNICIPAL. 

The  usual  congratulatory  resolution,  complimenting  the  Mayor  on  his  faithfulness,  and 
expressing  the  high  opinion  of  the  Council  for  him,  was  passed  by  a  unanimous  rising  vote, 
and  the  meeting  adjourned. 

My  successor,  a  Democrat,  was  elected  by  a  majority  of  six  hundred  votes. 


NOTE. — During  the  forty  years  that  I  have  been  a  manager  of  public  amuse- 
ments, the  number  of  my  patrons  has  been  almost  incredible.  From  a  careful 
examination  of  my  account-books  for  the  different  exhibitions  which  I  have 
owned  and  controlled,  I  find  that  more  than  eighty-two  millions  of  tickets,  in  tho 
aggregate,  were  disposed  of,  and  numerous  exhibitions  which  I  have  had  at 
various  times  are  not  included  in  this  statement. 

The  traveling  exhibitions  which  I  managed  during  the  six.  years  preced- 
ing my  purchase^of  the  New  York  American  Museumj  in  1841,  were 

attended  by 1,500,000  persons. 

The  American  Museum  which  I  managed  from  1841  to  1865,  when  it  was 

destroyed  by  fire,  sold 37,560,000  tickets. 

My  Broadway  Museum,  in  1865-6-7  and  8,  sold 3,640,000       " 

My  Philadelphia  Museum,  1849,  1850  and  1851,  sold.  1,800,000 

My  Baltimore  Museum,  sold 900,000       " 

My  traveling  Asiatic  Caravan,  Museum  and  Menagerie  im  1851-3-3  and  4, 

sold 5,824,000       " 

My  great  traveling  World's  Fair  and  Hippodrome,  in  1871-3-3-4-5  and  6, 

sold 7,920,000       " 

By  other  traveling  exhibitions  in  America  and  Europe,  sold 2,200,000       " 

General  Tom  Thumb  has  exhibited  for  me  34  years,  and  sold 20,400,000       " 

Jenny  Lind's  Concerts,  under  my  management,  were  attended  by 600,000  persons. 

Catharine  Hayes'  60  Concerts  in  California,  under  my  contract,  sold. . .  120,000  tickets. 

Thus,  my  patrons  amount  to  the  enormous  number  of 82,464,000 

Of  course,  eighty-two  millions  of  different  individuals  have  not  visited  my  va- 
rious exhibitions,  for  many  persons  visited  my  Museums,  etc.,  scores  and  some 
undoubtedly  hundreds  of  times.  But,  taken  altogether,  I  think  I  can,  without 
egotism,  say  that  I  have  amused  and  instructed  more  persons  than  any  other 
manager  who  ever  lived.  In  addition  to  the  eighty-two  millions  who  have 
visited  my  public  exhibitions,  I  may  add  that  I  have  delivered  over  seven  hun- 
dred public  lectures,  which  were  attended  in  the  aggregate  by  1,300,000  persons. 
My  first  autobiography,  published  in  1851,  reached  a  circulation  of  100,000  copies, 
besides  which  two  separate  editions  were  published  in  England,  one  in  Germany 
and  one  in  France.  These,  in  the  aggregate,  had  probably  more  than  a  million  of 
readers.  Of  my  autobiography,  "  Struggles  and  Triumphs,"  published  in  1869, 
and  written  up  to  1877,  240,000  copies  have  been  printed  in  America,  and  a  dif- 
ferent edition  in  London,  all  of  which  I  estimate  have  had  two  millions  of  readers. 
It  will  thus  be  seen  that  "Barnum"  has  occupied  so  much  public  attention  for 
forty  years,  that  the  fact  need  not  be  wondered  at  (and  it  is  a  fact),  that  in  1870 
a  letter  mailed  in  New  Zealand,  and  addressed  simply  "  Mr.  Barnum,  America," 
came  as  direct  to  me  at  Waldemere,  in  Bridgeport,  Conn.,  as  it  could  have  done 
if  my  full  address  had  been  written  on  the  envelope.  P.  T.  B. 


CHAPTER  L. 


FOBEIGN  AND   DOMESTIC. 

IN  December,  1876,  I  received  a  second  invitation  from  Lord  Rosebery  to 
breakfast  with  him  in  New  York.  On  parting  with  his  lordship  in  lS7i,  Vs 
warm  expressions  of  pleasure  at  having  met  me,  and  his  assurances  that  he 
hoped  and  intended  to  renew  our  acquaintance,  left  no  room  for  embarrassing 
misgivings  on  this  occasion.  Our  meeting  at  the  Brevoort  House  was  very 
cordial.  His  lordship  took  me  in  his  brougham  to  the  New  York  Club,  and 
there  I  first  learned  that  our  breakfast  companions  were  Martin  Farquhar 
Tupper  and  the  chief  editor  of  a  prominent  New  York  daily  paper.  Mr.  Tup- 
per  and  myself  had  held  a  correspondence  previous  to  his  leaving  England,  and 
the  author  of  "Proverbial  Philosophy"  was  apparently  delighted  at  the  unex- 
pected meeting  of  his  "dear  friend  Barnum."  The  occasion  was  an  exceedingly 
enjoyable  one,  and  if,  as  is  said,  laughter  aids  digestion,  I  am  confident  that 
three  of  the  quartette  were  not  troubled  with  dyspepsia  after  that  delicious  and 
recherche  meal.  Since  his  marriage  with  Miss  Rothschild,  I  have  received  a 
letter  from  Lord  Rosebery,  in  which  he  makes  pleasant  and  witty  allusion  to 
that  never-to-be-forgotten  breakfast.  The  transatlantic  friends  of  this  brilliant 
nobleman  are  pleased  to  know  that  he  has  been  recently  chosen  Lord  Rector  of 
the  University  of  Aberdeen. 

In  1876  I  accompanied  my  Great  Show  as  far  East  as  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia, 
where  we  exhibited  early  in  August.  While  in  the  Dominions  of  Her  Majesty 
Queen  Victoria,  we  changed  our  song  and  chorus  of  the  Star-Spangled  Banner 
to  God  Save  the  Queen,  with  decidedly  good  effect.  The  Show  proceeded  West 
to  Illinois.  The  financial  result  of  the  traveling  season  (1876)  was  satisfactory. 

In  the  autumn  of  1876  I  wrote  a  book  of  fiction,  founded  on  fact,  entitled  "  The 
Adventures  of  Lion  Jack  ;  or,  How  Menageries  are  Made. "  It  was  a  real  boys' 
book,  and  I  dedicated  it  to  the  boys  of  America.  It  was  published  by  Carleton, 
of  New  York.  Sampson,  Low  &  Co. ,  of  London,  also  published  it.  Many  copies 
have  been  sold  in  both  countries.  The  London  Times,  in  its  weekly  edition,  March 
23,  1877,  gave  "  Lion  Jack  "  a  favorable  notice  in  a  third  of  a  column.  It  is  sold 
in  my  traveling  show,  as  well  as  by  Carleton  &  Co. 

Among  many  other  valuable  additions  to  my  traveling  show  of  1877  were  six 
beautiful  and  remarkably  trained  black  Trakene  Stallions  from  Germany.  My 
agents,  Bailey  and  June,  after  scouring  Europe  in  search  of  novelties,  purchased 
them  at  large  figures  from  James  Myers,  proprietor  of  the  Great  American 
Circus  in  Paris.  They  formed  a  novel  and  pleasing  feature,  and,  with  other 
startling  novelties,  aided  to  secure  to  me  a  still  more  profitable  season  than  that 
of  1876. 

On  the  llth  of  April,  1877,  my  family  were  stricken  with  a  heavy  sorrow  in 
the  sudden  death  of  my  daughter,  Pauline  T.  Seeley,  at  the  age  of  thirty-one 
years,  leaving  a  husband  and  three  children.  This  blow  would  have  been  insup- 
portable to  me  did  I  not  receive  it  as  coming  from  our  good  Father  in  Heaven, 
who  does  all  things  right. 

315 


316  FOREIGN    AND    DOMESTIC. 

In  July,  1877,  I  sailed  for  England,  with  my  wife,  in  the  Cunard  steamer 
Russia,  both  of  us  arriving  home  eight  weeks  later  in  the  Scythia  of  the  same 
line.  At  the  request  of  the  captains  and  passengers,  I  gave  a  lecture  on  each 
steamer  for  the  benefit  of  the  Seamen's  Orphan  Institution  in  Liverpool.  I  also 
gave  my  lecture  on  "The  "World,  and  How  to  Live  in  It,"  several  times  in  the 
Royal  Aquarium  Theatre,  London,  in  Alexandra  Palace,  London,  Southport 
"Winter  Gardens,  and  in  Bolton.  I  likewise  lectured  on  Temperance  in  Hawk 
stone  Hall,  London,  at  which  the  celebrated  Rev.  Newman  Hall  presided ;  and  I 
gave  a  similar  lecture  in  Hengler's  Circus  building,  Liverpool  The  London 
Entracte,  the  London  Sporting  and  Dramatic  Neivs,  and  several  other  metro- 
politan papers,  published  illustrations  of  my  appearance  in  the  forum,  and 
numerous  London  journals  gave  favorable  notices  of  my  lectures.  I  was  glad 
to  meet  many  of  my  old  friends  in  England  after  an  absence  of  eighteen 
years.  I  have  nearly  as  many  personal  friends  in  London  as  in  the  city  of  New 
York.  In  the  latter  city  the  boys  often  hail  me  in  the  streets  and  ask  me  ques- 
tions about  the  show,  and  a  similar  occurrence  took  place  on  this  last  visit  to 
London.  As  I  was  one  day  coming  out  from  my  hairdresser's,  near  Regent 
street,  where  it  was  known  I  went  every  day,  a  bevy  of  lads  called  me  by  name 
and  inquired  if  it  was  true,  as  they  had  read  in  the  papers,  that  I  was  going  to 
bring  over  my  Great  Show  from  America. 

The  immense  'patronage  which  my  own  country  bestows  on  my  efforts  is  all 
that  keeps  me  from  taking  my  big  show  to  Europe,  where  my  name  is  as  well 
known  as  in  America. 

The  London  (England)  Wwld,  a  very  popular  weekly,  of  which  Edmund 
Yates,  the  novelist,  is  editor  and  proprietor,  has  a  specialty  in  each  of  its  issues 
headed  "Celebrities  at  Home."  In  this  department  have  appeared  sketches  of 
'  Lord  Beaconsfield,  Gladstone,  Tennyson,  Carlyle,  John  Bright,  Spurgeon,  etc. 
General  Grant  is  the  only  American  who  has  been  selected  for  portraiture  besides 
myself.  The  editor  obtained  •  from  some  person  in  Bridgeport,  probably  an 
Englishman,  the  following  sketch,  which  he  published  in  March,  1877.  My 
neighbors  generally  say  it  is  a  truthful  representation  of  me  and  my  surround- 
ings "  at  home."  but  I  think  the  writer  has  made  the  picture  too  flattering: 

CELEBRITIES  AT  HOME. 

P.    T.   BARNUM. 

A  stranger  in  America,  happening  to  alight  at  Bridgeport,  a  thriving  city  of  some  twenty- 
five  thousand  inhabitants,  beautifully  situated  on  the  shore  of  Long  Island  Sound,  within 
sixty  miles  of  Xew  York  city,  might  be  surprised  to  find  that  it  owes  much  of  its  pros- 
perity to  the  business  tact  and  energy  of  its  most prominent  citizen,  Phineas  Taylor  Barnuin. 
Ask  any  inhabitant  of  this  third  city  of  the  State  of  Connecticut  who  built  those  rows  of 
cottages,  reminding  an  English  traveler  of  those  built  by  the  more  philanthropic  manu- 
facturers at  home,  and  the  answer  comes,  "  Barnum."  Ho\v  is  it  that  so  manv  operatives) 
possess  homes  of  their  own  ?  Again  the  answer.  "  Barnum  helped  them."  Who  planned 
your  Mountain  Grove — one  of  the  most  beautiful  cemeteries  in  America  ?  "  Barnum 
started  it,  and  thus  did  away  with  an  old,  neglected  buryingrgronnd,  that  used  to  be  in  the 
heart  of  the  city."  And  your  lovely  Sea-side  Park  ;  who  originated  that  ?  "  Oh,  Barnum, 
of  course  ;  he  gave  some  of  the  land,  begged  and  bought  the  remainder,  and  never  rested 
until  the  park  became  what  it  is— the  greatest  ornament  and  blessing  of  our  city."  Yon 
may  go  on  with  the  catechism,  ad  libitum,  and  will  find  that  this  "showman "  has  been  a 
zealous  worker  in,  and  generally  prime  mover  of  every  public  improvement.  That  his  fel- 
low-citizens appreciate  his  efforts  is  apparent,  for  they  elected  him  mayor,  twice  sent  him 
to  represent  the  town  in  the  State  Legislature,  nominated  him  for  the  United  States  Congress, 
and,  on  one  occasion,  within  the  last  few  years,  on  his  return  from  a  visit  to  England,  over 
two  hundred  of  the  most  substantial  citizens  of  Bridgeport  gave  him  a  complimentary  din- 
ner, "  in  honor  of  the  liberality  and  energy  in  private  enterprise  ;  in  promoting  the  indus- 
tries and  public  improvements  of  Bridgeport,  and  the  genuine  philanthropy"  of  their 
popular  fellow-townsman. 


FOREIGN    AND   DOMESTIC.  3L? 

Mr.  Barnnm,  when  at  home,  is  in  great  request.    Pew  temperance  meetings  are  consia 
ered  complete  unless  he  is  a  prominent  speaker ;  few  church  bazaars  expected  to  succeed 
unless  he  opens  them  with  a  humorous  speech,  which  seldom  fails  to  open  hearts  and 
The  youngest  urchin  can  point  the  way  to  Sea-side  Park,  and  there,  standing  on 
.  slight  eminence,  looking  down  on  the  park  and  across  its  narrowest  part  to  the  waters  of 
lie  sound,  over  whose  surface  steamers,  yachts,  and  every  variety  of  water  craft  are  con- 
tinually passing,  stands  Waldemere,  from  whose  cupola  floats  a  silken  flag  bearing  the  well- 
known  monogram,  P.  T.  B.,  whenever  the  king  of  showmen  is  at  home.     Walderaere— 
woods  by  the  Sea— so  named  by  its  owner's  friend,  Bayard  Taylor,  is  a  naturally  beautiful 


border  the  drives  from  gateway  to  porch.  The  house  itself  is  not  easily  described,  being  a 
curious  but  pleasant  melange  of  Gothic,  Italian  and  French  architecture  and  decoration, 
presenting  a  front  a  hundred  and  sixty  feet  long  to  the  water,  whereby  most  of  the  rooms 
command  a  very  charming  view.  On  entering  one  is  pleasantly  struck  by  the  spaciousness 
of  hall  and  rooms.  One  can  breathe  as  freely  in-doors  as  out.  Nothing  is  small  or  con- 
tracted. The  house  is  furnished  luxuriously  but  not  ostentatiously  ;  taste  as  well  as  wealth 
being  evident  in  the  arrangement  of  every  room.  Pictures  of  high  merit  hang  on  tinted 
walls  and  stand  on  easels.  Chinese  vases  of  quaint  and  wonderful  design  guard  the  fire- 
places ;  busts  and  statuettes  fill  nooks  and  corners  ;  capacious  bookcases  fail  to  hold  the 
latest  works  ;  -while  mantels  and  etagers  hold  costly  bric-a-brac  in  artistic  confusion.  Many 
of  these  ornaments  abound  in  interesting  reminiscences  for  the  "great  showman  "  and  for 
his  friends.  On  a  pedestal  in  a  place  of  honor,  stands  a  marble  bust  of  Jenny  Lind,  whose 
original  contract  with  P.  T.  Barnum  hangs  framed  in  one  of  the  halls,  the  signatures  of 
Jenny  Lind,  Sir  Jules  Benedict,  Giovanni  Belletti  and  P.  T.  Barnum,  compelling  us  to  pause 
for  a  moment  before  it.  A  corner  bracket  in  a  cosy  sitting-room  holds  a  small  Parian 
Bacchus—  a  Christmas  gift  from  the  Swedish  nightingale  to  Mr.  Barnum,  in  good-natured 
ridicule  of  his  firm  temperance  principles  and  practice.  In  an  etagere  in  this  same  pleasant 
room  lie  dimpled  marble  models  of  Tom  Thumb's  hand  and  foot  taken  when  his  size  waa 
smallest  and  his  fame  greatest.  One  cannot  spend  half  an  hour  inspecting  Waldemere 
without  discovering  that  Mr.  Barnum  is  a  firm  believer  in  cleanliness  either  for  its  relation 
to  godliness  or  for  its  own  merits.  The  mansion  is  intersected  with  a  very  network  of 
waterpipes—  there  being  scarcely  a  room  that  has  not  its  bath-room  and  lavatory  attached. 
There  are  rooms  bearing  the"  names  of  distinguished  guests  who  have  occupied  them.  A 


spacious  bed-room,  with  hangings  and  furniture  of  pale  green  and  white,  is  known  as  the 
"  Greeley  room."  for  here  Horace  Greeley  had  reposed.  Two  pleasant  rooms  are  associated 
with  the  memory  of  the  sister  poetesses,  Alice  and  Phcebe  Cary.  Doubtless  there  will 


sometime  be  a  "Twain  room,"  for  the  humorist  is  a  frequent  guest  at  Waldemere. 

Mr.  Barnum's  second  wife  is  a  young  English  lady  of  culture,  the  daughter  of  an  old 
friend  of  his  in  Lancashire.  The  good  taste  displayed  in  the  ornamentation  of  Waldemere 
is  due  to  Mrs.  Barnum,  who  is  highly  appreciated  by  the  best  families  of  Bridgeport  as  a 
charming  hostess,  an  intelligent  and  agreeable  conversationalist,  and  a  kind  neighbor  and 
friend.  Mr.  Barnnra's  daughters  regard  her  as  a  treasure  added  to  their  enjoyment,  and  to 
their  father's  happiness  and  comfort.  As  for  Mr.  Barnum  himself  his  round  full  face  beams 
with  extra  smiles  when  he  is  near  her.  He  never  seems  quite  so  happy  as  when  listening 
to  her  playing  opera  music  on  the  grand  piano,  riding  at  her  side  in  the  family  landeau  to 
and  from  church,  in  Sea-side  Park,  or  on  the  numerous  pleasant  avenues  in  the  vicinity  of 
Bridgeport. 

Mr.  Barnum's  library,  or,  as  he  calls  it,  "work-shop,"  is  an  imposing  octagonal  room  fur- 
nished and  paneled  with  cherry,  birch  and  maple  woods.  Opening  on  one  hand  is  a  lava- 
tory, and  on  another  a  room  where  his  private  secretary  works  within  call.  At  a  large  and 
much  littered  desk,  with  papers  strewn  ankle-deep  around  his  chair,  Mr.  Barnum  spends 
nearly  every  morning  of  his  life  communicating  with  his  agents  in  every  land  —  often  in- 
terrupted by  some  employe  desiring  orders,  or  by  some  friend  or  stranger  asking  advice 
or  more  substantial  help,  but  never  laying  down  his  pen,  which  is  traveling  rapidly  as 
ever  ere  the  door  has  closed  behind  the  visitor.  He  is  economical  of  his  time,  never 
wasting  or  submitting  to  be  robbed  of  a  moment  of  the  hours  set  apart  for  business. 
Woe  to  the  adventurer  or  visionary  who  intrudes  at  this  time.  He  is  weighed,  found 
wanting  and  dismissed  in  two  minutes.  These  long  mornings,  and  a  short  time  de- 
voted on  the  arrival  of  each  mail  to  answering  the  letters  they  never  fail  to  bring,  these 
hours  over  —  the  keen  but  conscientious  man  of  business,  the  head  of  so  many  under- 
takings —  enjoys  himself  with  as  much  apparent  freedom  from  care  as  the  workman  who 
has  just  pocketed  a  good  week's  wages.  If  Mr.  Barnum,  when  working,  dislikes  to  be 
interrupted,  Mr.  Barnum,  when  enjoying  himself,  is  even  less  tolerant  of  business  intru- 
sion. The  intruder  may  desire  to  purchase  valuable  land  and  come  with  the  money  in  his 
pocket  ;  he  is  none  the  less  decisively  told  to  "come  in  the  morning."  The  personal  ap- 
pearance of  P.  T.  Barnum  will  interest  those  who  may  not  have  seen  the  man  nor  his 
portrait  Tall,  portly,  erect,  in  spite  of  his  sixty-seven  years  of  hard  work  and  several 
fortunes  earned  and  lost,  and  won  ;ig;iin,  witli  a  high  forehead,  gray  hair  curling  crisply 
around  a  bald  head,  with  a  firm,  decided  step  and  voice,  he  is  very  different  from  the 
popular  conception  of  a  showman—  as  indeed  his  social  standing  upsets  the  general  idea  of 
a  showman's  natural  and  proper  status. 


318  FOREIGN   AND   DOMESTIC. 

In  the  spring  of  1877  I  offered  $10,000  for  the  return  of  the  kidnapped  Charley 
Ross  to  his  afflicted  parents.  But  though  my  offer  was  published  far  and  wide 
on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  all  efforts  for  his  restoration  proved  unavailing, 

In  August,  1877,  I  visited  Des  Moines,  and  proceeded  west  with  my  show  as 
far  as  Council  Bluffs,  Iowa,  and  thence  to  my  cattle  ranch  in  Colorado.  I  gave 
temperance  speeches  in  Denver  and  Greeley,  and  also  gave  my  lecture  on  "  The 
World,  and  How  to  Live  in  it,"  in  the  former  city  and  at  Colorado  Springs. 

In  November,  1877,  I  was  elected  to  represent  Bridgeport  in  the  General  As- 
sembly of  Connecticut.  My  majority  was  212,  although  the  political  party  with 
which  I  am  identified  is  usually  700  in  the  minority.  It  was  a  personal  sacrifice 
to  me  to  leave  my  home  to  help  make  our  State  laws  at  Hartford,  but  I  did  not 
feel  at  liberty  to  refuse  the  demand  upon  my  services,  and  I  endeavored  to  fulfill 
my  duty  as  a  citizen  of  the  Commonwealth  without  undue  exertions  party-wise. 
The  Speaker,  Hon.  Chas.  H.  Briscoe,  offered  me  the  choice  of  chairmanship  of' 
half  a  dozen  standing  committees.  I  told  him  that  on  the  two  former  occasions 
when  I  was  in  the  Legislature  I  was  Chairman  on  Agriculture  (having  plowed 
with  an  elephant),  but  I  should  now  prefer  to  be  one  of  the  Committee  on  Tem- 
perance. He  appointed  me  chairman  of  that  committee.  "We  succeeded  in  get- 
ting several  favorable  changes  in  our  liquor  laws,  yet,  like  Oliver  Twist,  we 
asked  for  more.  During  the  winter  I  gave  a  number  of  lectures  in  the  vicinity 
of  Hartford.  Among  numerous  social  gatherings  which  I  attended  in  that  city, 
I  remember  none  more  pleasant  than  a  dinner  given  to  half  a  dozen  of  his  friends 
by  Governor  Hubbard.  The  Republican  party  had  a  majority  in  both  Houses, 
and  of  course  carried  such  measures  as  they  desired.  There  was,  however,  one 
exception.  At  our  party  caucus,  when  it  was  announced  that  a  nomination  was 
to  be  made  for  a  Republican  Superintendent  of  the  Public  School  Fund  to  super- 
cede  the  Democratic  incumbent,  who  was  acknowledged  by  all  parties  to  be  an 
honest,  intelligent  and  capable  person,  I  insisted  that  no  change  should  be  made. 
I  reminded  the  members  of  the  caucus  that  the  position  was  a  responsible  and 
important  one;  that  a  large  amount  of  the  State's  money,  held  as  a  sacred  trust, 
was  under  the  control  of  the  present  incumbent,  Mr.  Miles;  that  mortgages 
were  being  foreclosed,  and  several  complicated  law  suits  were  before  the  courts, 
the  details  of  which  Mr.  Miles  thoroughly  understood,  and  that,  although  I  did 
not  know  that  gentleman  and  never  saw  him,  I  should  insist  upon  his  re-appoint- 
ment. But,  as  is  usual  in  politics,  ardent  members  were  anxious  to  serve  the 
party,  and  a  new  nomination  was  insisted  on.  I  declined  to  vote,  and  when  the 
name  of  the  new  nominee  was  subsequently  presented  in  the  House  I  opposed  it, 
giving  my  reasons,  and  appealed  to  the  honor  of  my  brother  Republicans  to  not 
let  partisan  feelings  conflict  with  the  general  interests  of  our  State.  Of  course 
I  was  strongly  opposed,  but  when  the  final  vote  was  taken  by  yeas  and  nays  I 
had  the  gratification  of  seeing  over  twenty  Republicans  stand  up  for  "civil 
service,"  and  Mr.  Miles  was  again  appointed.  I  have  never  seen  that  gentleman 
to  this  day,  but  I  feel  that  the  Commonwealth  of  Connecticut  was  a  gainer  by 
his  re-appointment. 

In  April,  1878,  my  great  traveling  show  opened  for  a  fortnight  at  the  Ameri- 
can Institute  building,  in  New  York,  and  then  proceeded  to  Philadelphia. 

The  show,  as  usual,  was  transported  through  the  country  on  nearly  a  hundred 
railway  cars  of  my  own,  preceded  a  fortnight  in  advance  by  my  Magnificent 
Advertising  Car,  carrying  press  agents,  the  "paste  brigade,"  numbering  twenty, 
and  tons  of  immense  colored  bills,  programmes,  lithographs,  photographs,  elec- 


FOREIGN   AND   DOMESTIC.  319 

trotype  cuts,  etc.,  to  arouse  the  entire  country  for  fifty  miles  around  each  place 
of  exhibition  to  the  fact  that  "P.  T.  Barnum's  New  and  Greatest  Show  on 
Earth,"  with  its  acres  of  tents  and  pavilions  could  be  reached  by  cheap  excur- 
sion trains  on  certain  days  specified  in  the  bills  and  advertisements.  The  show 
went  East  to  Bangor,  Maine,  and  West  to  Illinois,  reaching  New  York  and 
opening  at  Gilmore's  Garden  in  October,  for  seven  weeks  to  crowded  houses. 

In  the  summer  of  1878,  I  expended  some  twenty  thousand  dollars  in  the  pur- 
chase and  reclamation  of  a  large  tract  of  salt  marsh  adjoining  Sea-side  Park 
and  the  grounds  of  Waldemere  on  the  west.  This  marsh  has  been  inaccessible 
from  time  immemorial,  annually  producing  plentiful  crops  of  mosquitoes.  The 
times  were  hard,  many  laboring  men  in  Bridgeport  were  suffering  for  want  of 
employment,  and  although  it  was  evident  I  should  never  be  reimbursed  for  half 
my  expenditures,  I  could  see  that  the  improvement  would  be  a  great  public  ben- 
efit, and  remembering  the  dykes  in  Holland  which  I  had  so  frequently  seen  with 
astonishment  and  admiration,  I  determined,  as  I  told  my  neighbors,  to  "  cheat 
my  heirs, "  by  expending  a  good  sum  pro  bono  publico.  I  built  this  dyke  straight 
across  a  channel  which  let  in  the  tide- water  every  twelve  hours  and  covered  an 
immense  tract  of  low  salt  meadow.  I  made  the  dyke  seventy  feet  wide  at  bot- 
tom, and  of  sufficient  width  on  the  top  to  form  a  fine  street  leading  from  one  of 
our  city  avenues  to  the  beach  on  Long  Island  Sound.  This  gives  nearly  a  mile 
high  and  dry  front  on  the  salt  water  connecting  with  Sea-side  Park.  I  propose 
to  make  a  present  to  the  city  of  this  "water"  front,  150  feet  in  width,  which 
will  give  them  as  an  extension  of  their  already  beautiful  Park,  a  delightful 
additional  boulevard  for  carriages  and  promenade  on  the  very  edge  of  Long 
Island  Sound,  where  the  plashing  salt  waves  may  be  seen,  heard  and  enjoyed  for 
all  time.  Mayor  Morford  (of  opposite  politics  from  myself)  in  his  message  to 
the  Common  Council  of  Bridgeport,  characterized  my  proposition  as  a  "liberal 
offer,"  and  said,  "  the  Barnum  Boulevard,  in  connection  with  the  Sea-side  Park, 
adding  nearly  a  mile  to  the  present  park-drive,  would  be  the  finest  improvement 
of  the  kind  on  the  Atlantic  Coast." 

The  Bridgeport  Leader  of  May  1,  1878,  in  referring  to  this  enterprise,  said  : 
It  is  one  of  the  peculiarities  of  Mr.  Barnum,  that  he  is  always  undertaking  some  kind 
of  a  public  improvement  which  uo  one  else  would  think  of,  and  besides  this  he  does  it  at 
his  own  expense.  When  he  takes  hold  of  any  great  work  which  at  the  least  will  require 
years  of  waiting  before  any  return  can  be  hoped  for  to  recompense  for  the  original  outlay, 
it  is  reasonable  to  believe  that  pecuniary  gain  is  not  the  sole  object  of  these  undertakings. 
It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  no  six  men,  living  or  dead,  have  done  more  for  Bridgeport 
than  the  "  Great  Showman,"  and,  although  we  do  not  doubt  that  could  the  books  be  bal- 
anced, that  he  has  virtually  sunk  at  least  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  million  of  dollars  in 
improving  the  city,  he  is  still  as  anxious  as  ever  to  leave  the  impress  of  his  enterprise  upon 
the  most  unpromising  portions  of  the  place.  The  building  of  the  dyke  from  the  western 
terminus  of  Short  Beach  northerly  to  the  western  end  of  South  avenue,  promises  the  least 
pecuniary  return  of  the  money  invested  of  any  of  the  enterprises  Mr.  Barnum  has  entered 
into.  Yet  we  know  of  no  work  which  promises  in  the  end  to  add  more  to  the  attractive- 
ness of  the  place  than  this.  .. 

It  will  be  those  who  will  people  this  section  in  the  future  who  will  recognize  the  wisdom 
and  foresight  of  the  man  who  had  nothing  to  gain  save  the  notable  ambition  of  "  leaving 
the  world'  better  for  having  lived  in  it,"  and  did  not  hesitate  to  take  upon  himself  the 
expense  and  the  risk  of  beginning  a  work  of  which  every  year's  delay  is  an  irreparable 

'  Tlie^roa'd  contemplated  to  be  constructed  from  the  west  end  of  Sea-side  Park  to  Mr. 
Barnnm's  dyke,  when  completed,  will  give  Bridgeport  one  of  the  handsomest  drives  by  the 
sea  shore  on  Long  Island  Sound.— Bridgeport  Leader,  Nov.  13,  1878. 


320  FOREIGN   AND   DOMESTIC. 

Colonel  O.  B.  Hall,  a  quaint  old  neighbor  of  mine,  hitherto  unsuspected  of  any 
poetic  tendencies,  thus  expressed  his  admiration  of  my  achievement : 

TO  P   T   BAENTJM. 

Had  you  but  lived  in  days  gone  by, 

When  Captain  Noah  sailed  above 
The  tops  of  trees,  and  mountains  high, 

With  relatives,  and  beasts  and  dove. 

You  could  have  saved  that  great  expense, 

In  building  arks  and  catching  beasts, 
By  making  dams  and  dykes  and  fence, 

And  many  millions  saved  at  least 

Of  souls  that  found  a  watery  grave 
While  swimming  round  the  Ark,  and  plead 

With  Noah,  to  take  them  in  and  save 
From  being  numbered  with  the  dead. 

He  did  not  care  a  dam  or  dyke  to  make, 

To  stop  that  flood  which  spread  so  wide ; 
To  Ark  !  to  Ark  !  he  said,  betake, 

We'll  on  the  ocean  gayly  ride. 

Well  stored  lockers  in  the  Ark 

With  sweetmeats,  wine  and  solid  grub, 
When  he  and  kin  did  quick  embark. 

With  haste  and  speed,  on  board  his  tub. 

One  of  each  sex  of  beasts  that  roam, 

Likewise  did  board  his  pitchy  boat, 
All  others  left  to  their  sad  doom, 

When  that  old  craft  did  rise  and  float. 

You  could  have  dammed  that  rising  tide, 

And  saved  unnumbered  human  souls, 
By  stopping  sea  from  spreading  wide, 

Which  covered  earth  above  the  poles. 

But  as  it  was,  no  one  could  live 

On  earth,  through  that  calamity, 
When  Heaven  ope'd  its  riddling  sieve, 

Through  which  was  pour'd  a  mighty  sex 

The  fish  were  pleased  to  hear  it  pour, 

And  see  the  angling  lubbers  strive 
To  find  a  floating  plank  or  door, 

On  which  to  ride  and  keep  alive. 

But  you,  more  wise,  have  done  a  deed 

To  stay  the  water's  tide  o'erflow, 
Where  cussed  'skeeters  used  to  breed, 

On  those  salt  meadows  down  below. 

Ozone,  that  pure  and  healthy  air, 

Will  soon  embalm  that  sea  of  grass, 

»  And  Heavenly  zephyrs  free  and  fair, 

Will  linger  o'er  it  ere  they  pass. 

It  soon  will  be  like  Eden's  land, 

Where  flowers  bloom  and  fig  trees  grow, 
And  yon,  like  Adam,  have  command, 

Of  this  fair  garden  down  below. 

Those  railroad  ties  will  stand  as  guard, 

To  keep  the  flowing  tide  aback, 
Protecting  safely  "boulevard  " 

As  driveway  for  a  carriage  track, 

Where  "  lads  and  lasses  blithe  and  gay," 

Can  ride  with  pleasure  o'er  the  pave. 
And  bless  that  man  who,  in  his  day, 

Redeemed  that  place  from  under  wuve. 


FOREIGN  AND   DOMESTIC.  321 

The  Bridgeport  Standard  of  Nov.  2,  1878,  says  : 

Hori,.  P.  T.  Barnum  is  known  all  the  world  over  as  a  Bridgeport  man,  and  he  has  done 
as  much,  or  more  for  the  place,  regardless  of  party  or  sect,  than  any  man  living.  The 
people  of  Bridgeport  have  honored  him  with  their  confidence  and  it  has  never  been 
abused. 

In  November,  1878,  I  consented,  much  against  my  will,  to  accept  another 
nomination  to  represent  Bridgeport  in  the  General  Assembly  of  Connecticut.  I 
was  re-elected  by  a  majority  of  several  hundred  votes.  My  opponents  on  the 
Democratic  ticket  were  Hon.  W.  D.  Bishop  and  Hon.  Nathaniel  Wheeler. 

The  Manchester  (England)  Examiner  and  Times  published  an  editorial  article 
coupling  my  name  with  those  of  the  British  Ministry,  to  which  I  replied  as 
follows : 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Examiner  and  Times,  Manchester,  England  : 

SIR  :  In  your  issue  of  the  3d  instant  you  make  mention  of  me  as  "  the  late  Mr.  Bar- 
num." For  the  benefit  of  numerous  friends  in  Great  Britain,  who  have  not  before  heard 
of  my  being  classed  amons<  the  "  lates,"  I  beg  to  say  that  my  age  is  among  the  sixties, 
and  tliat,  having  been  a  teetotaler  for  thirty  years,  I  am  robust  in  health,  and  maintain 
the  same  vigor  I  possessed  at  forty.  I  am  proprietor  of  the  most  extensive  Museum, 
Menagerie,  World's  Fair  and  Hippodrome  that  ever  traveled,  being  run  at  an  expense  of 
$3.000  (or  £600  sterling)  per  day,  and  my  highest  ambition,  professionally,  now  is,  to  pay 
to  the  British  Government  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  (£20,000)  for  the  priviledge  of 
exhibiting  alive,  for  five  years,  its  "while  elephant,"  King  Ketowayo,  the  captive  Zulu. 
I  shall  be  glad  to  receive,  by  an  early  mull,  a  note  of  acceptance  from  my  friend  Lord 
Beaconsfleld,  who  so  kindly  mentioned  me  in  his  "Lothair." 

Truly  yours, 

P.  T.  BARNUM. 

WAKDEMERE,  BRIDGEPORT,  CONN.,  November,  1879. 


CHAPTER    LI. 

THE    GKEAT    ALLIANCE. 

BERGH  VANQUISHED — TRANSFORMATION  SCENE— BABY  ELEPHANT — THE  GREAT  ALLIANCE— 

WINTER  QUARTERS   OF    THE  GREAT   BARNUM-LONDON   SHOW — VALLEY  OF  THE   SHADOW  OF 

DEATH— FOUR  PULLMAN    CAR  LOADS   OF  EDITORS— TORCH-LIGHT   PROCESSION    AND   GRAND 

OPENING — TESTIMONIALS     FROM     GARFIELD     AND     ARTHUR — MY     VOYAGE     TO     EUROPE — 

PRESENTATION     OF     FOUNTAIN     TO    BETHEL;    ALSO,    "THE     BARNUM     BOULEVARD"    AND 

DYKE     TO     THE     CITY     OF     BRIDGEPORT — ANOTHER    BABY     ELEPHANT— "  JUMBO,"     THE 

GREATEST  OF  THE  GREAT — VALEDICTORY. 

IN  1879  and  i860  the  show  under  the  same  management  was  very  successful. 
I  introduced  the  firing  of  Zazel  from  a  cannon.  This  has  since  been  the  princi- 
pal feature  of  other  shows,  as  has  also  the  tattooed  Greek  whom  I  first  intro- 
duced to  the  American  public  in  1876.  While  exhibiting  in  the  Rink  in  1880,  I 
had  a  business  encounter  with  Henry  Bergh,  Esq.,  which  created  much  interest 
and  excitement  in  the  arena  and  in  the  newspapers.  A  New  York  daily  paper 
gave  the  following  faithful  account  of  the  affair  : 

The  controversy  between  P.  T.  Barnum  and  Henry  Bergh,  which  has  occupied  public 
attention  for  a  few  days,  was  ended  yesterday  in  favor  of  the  veteran  showman.  It  will  be 
remembered  that  Mr.  Bergh  compelled  Mr.  Barnum  to  discontinue  the  act  of  the  fire-horse 
Salamander,  on  the  grounds  of  cruelty  to  the  animal  and  danger  to  the  audience.  Mr. 
Barnum,  with  an  eye  to  a  stupendous  advertising  scheme,  and  doubtless  with  a  wish  to 
assure  his  patrons  that  everything  had  been  done  to  secure  their  safety,  challenged  Mr. 
Bergh  to  meet  him  in  the  circus  ring  on  Monday  afternoon  and  to  reply  to  his  explanations. 
Yesterday  the  vast  American  Institute  Building  was  unable  to  accommodate  the  crowds  who 
clamored  for  admission.  Shortly  after  the  opening  of  the  show  Superintendent  Hartfield, 
of  the  Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  *o  Animals,  entered  in  command  of  seven  of 
his  officers.  Police  Captain  Gunner,  who  originally  made  the  report  that  caused  Mr. 
Bergh's  interference,  was  also  on  hand  with  a  posse  of  twenty  policemen,  who  were 
assigned  positions  around  the  ring.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  barebark  horsemanship  of 
Orrin  Hollis,  Mr.  Barnum  entered  the  arena  amid  an  outburst  of  applause.  When  this  had 
subsided,  Mr.  Barnum  beean  his  speech  and  said :  • 

"  LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN:  I  have  been  catering  to  the  public  for  forty-eight  years,  yet  I 
am  here  to-day  expecting  arrest  by  this  large  force  of  police,  and  imprisonment  and  trial  by 
ajury  of  my  countrymen.  The  patent  fact  is  just  this:  Mr.  Bergh  or  I  must  run  this  show. 
Mr.  Bergh  has  published  that  I  have  endangered  the  lives  of  my  audiences.  Long  before 
he  was  known  to  society,  I  was  a  subscriber  to  a  society  in  London,  similar  to  the  one  of 
which  he  is  chief,  and  of  which  Queen  Victoria  was  a  patron.  It  was  I  who  called  the 
attention  of  the  Mayor  of  the  city  to  the  necessity  for  such  a  society  here,  and  I  am,  in 
Bridgeport,  what  Mr.  Bergh  is  here.  I  know  more  about  animals  than  he  knows.  They 
are  taught  and  governed  only  by  kindness.  The  fire-horse.  Salamander's  performance  has 
been  witnessed  by  the  Emperor  of  Germany.  Prince  Bismarck,  Queeu  Victoria,  and  many 
of  the  most  prominent  people  in  Europe,  and  he,  like  other  animals,  being  valuable,  self- 
interest  demands  protection  and  proper  treatment.  In  this  performance  not  a  hair  of  the 
horse  i*  singed. 

"  *  Years  ago,'  continued  Mr.  Barnum,  '  Mr.  Bergh  demanded  that  I  should  furnish  the 
rhinoceros  with  a  tank  of  water  to  swim  in,  when  such  a  proceeding  would  have  killed  it. 
I  explained  to  Mr.  Bergh  the  nature  of  the  animal  and  its  requirements,  and  he  troubled 
me  no  further.  In  1866,  during  my  absence  from  New  York,  Mr.  Bergh  frightened  my 
manager  into  sending  the  snakes  to  New  Jersey  to  be  fed,  objecting  to  their  being  supplied 
with  live  toads  and  lizards,  although  it  was  explnined  to  him  that,  while  they  were  only 
attracted  by  living  food,  they  crushed  and  killed  it  before  swallowing.  On  my  return  I 
ordered  them  to  be  fed  with  live  frogs  in  order  to  preserve  their  lives. 

"'I  hold  in  my  hand,'  said  Mr.  Barnum,  'a  letter  from  Mr.  Bergh,  dated  "Rooms  of 
Society,  No.  826  Broadway,  Dec.  11,  1866,"  from  which  I  will  read  an  extract : 

"  I  am  informed  that  several  live  animals  were  recently  thrown  into  the  cage  with  your 
boa  constrictor  to  be  devoured  !  I  assert,  without  fear  of  contradiction,  that  any  person 
who  can  commit  an  atrocity  such  as  the  one  I  complain  of  is  semi-barbarian  in  his  in- 
stincts *  *  *  It  may  be  urged  that  the  reptiles  will  not  eat  dead  food.  In  reply  to 
this  I  have  only  to  say— then  let  them  starve;  for  it  is  contrary  to  the  merciful  providence 

322 


THE   GREAT   ALLIANCE.  323 

of  God  that  wrong  should  be  committed  in  order  to  accomplish  a  supposed  right.  But  I 
am  satisfied  that  this  assertion  is  false  in  theory  and  practice,  for  no  living  creature  will 
allow  itself  to  perish  of  hunger  with  food  before  it— be  the  aliment  dead  or  alive  On  the 
ixt  occurrence  of  this  cruel  exhibition  this  society  will  take  legal  measures  to  punish  the 
perpetrator  of  it.  (Signed) 

HENRY  BERGH,  President." 

"  I  sent  a  copy  of  this  letter  to  the  elder  Prof.  Agassiz,  and  received  the  following  auto- 
graph letter  in  reply.    It  is  too  rich  to  keep  longer  from  the  public : 
P.  T.  BARNUM,  ESQ.  :  CAMBRIDGE,  Feb.  28,  1867. 

Dear  Sir:    On  my  return  to  Cambridge  I  received  your  letter  of  the  15th  January     I  do 

know  of  any  way  to  induce  snakes  to  eat  their  food  otherwise  than  in  their  natural 

manner— that  is  alive.     Your  museum  is  intended  to  show  the  public  the  animals  as  nearly 

as  possible  in  their  natural  state.    The  society  of  which  you  speak  is,  as  I  understand  for 

the  prevention  of  unnecessary  cruelty  to  animals.    It  is  a  most  praiseworthy  object  but  I 

think  the  most  active  members  of  the  society  would  object  to  eating  lobster  salad 

because  the  lobster  was  boiled  alive,  or  refuse  roasted  oysters  because  they  were  cooked 

alive,  or  raw  oysters  because  they  must  be  swallowed  alive.    I  am,  dear  sir,  your  obedient 

servant,  L.  AQASSIZ. 

"  On  March  4, 1867, 1  inclosed  Prof.  Agassiz's  letter  to  Mr.  Bergh,  from  whom  I  demanded 
an  apology  for  bis  abuse,  and  an  acknowledgment  of  his  mistakes  as  to  snakes  eating  dead 
food.  Three  days  later  Mr.  Bergh  replied,  acknowledging  the  receipt  of  mine.  He  then 
wrote  as  follows : 

"Your  letter  contains  a  threat  to  give  my  letter  to  the  public  unless  I  write  you  a  letter 
for  publication,  stating  that  since  reading  Prof.  Agassiz's  letter  to  you  I  withdraw  my 
objections,  etc.  In  reply  to  this  I  have  to  say  that  the  hastily  written  note  to  which  you 
refer  was  not  intended  for  publication." 

"  '  Hastily  written,  indeed,'  commented  the  great  show  king, '  calling  my  acts  atrocities  and 
me  semi-barbarous  in  my  instincts.'  He  then  proceeded  with  the  letter: 

"I  am  convinced  of  the  necessity  of  laboring  more  assiduously  in  the  cause  of  protecting 
the  brute  creation  in  order,  to  counteract  the  unhappy  influence  which  the  expressions  of 
that  distinguished  savant  (Prof.  Agassiz)  are  calculated  to  occasion.  I  scarcely  know 
which  emotion  is  paramount  in  my  mind,  regret  or  astonishment,  that  so  eminent  a 
philosopher  should  have  cast  the  weight  of  his  commanding  authority  into  the  scale  where 
cruelty  points  the  index  in  its  favor. 

HENRY  BERGH,  President." 

"He  detailed  other  obstacles  which  Mr.  Bergh  had  thrown  in  his  way,  and  intimated 
that  if  he  (Berj*h)  would  stick  to  his  own  business,  that  he  (Barnnm)  would  run  his  own 
show,  and  conform  to  the  laws  as  decided  by  a  jury  of  his  countrymen.  In  conclusion  Mr. 
Barnum  said  :  '  I  now  expect  to  be  arrested,  but  if  I  should  be.  I  shall  place  a  hoop  of  fire 
around  Henry  Bergh  that  will  make  him  warmer  than  he  has  been  in  the  past,  and  probably 
than  he  ever  will  experience  in  the  future.' 

"  The  effort  was  received  with  tremendous  cheering.  The  horse  Salamander  was  then 
brought  into  the  ring  by  Prince  Nagaard,  its  trainer,  and  the  fire  hoops  were  lighted.  Mr. 
Barnum  ran  his  hand  through  the  blaze,  and  then  stepped  through  the  flaming  circle,  hat 
in  hand.  Ten  clowns  performed  a  number  of  ludicrous  antics  through  the  hoops,  and  then 
the  horse  passed  through  without  showing  any  signs  of  fear  and  without  singeing  a  hair. 
Mr.  Barnum  had  not  yet  finished  the  illustration,  however,  for  he  requested  Superintendent 
Hartfield  to  walk  through  the  still  blazing  hoops.  Without  hesitation  he  did  so,  and  he  got 
more  applause  than  Mme.  Dockrill  in  her  four-horse  act.  Superintendent  Hartfield  then 
stated  that  his  superior, Mr.  Bergh,  had  evidently  made  a  mistake  in  the  matter;  that  there 
was  neither  cruelty  nor  danger  in  the  performance,  -iiul  that  the  society  had  no  cause  for 
action.  Amid  the  wildest  excitement  and  cheers  for  the  plucky  Barnum,  Capt.  Gunner, 
looking  somewhat  crestfallen,  withdrew  his  officers,  and  the  show  went  on.  Salamander 
again  went  through  his  tricks  last  night  without  interruption. 

Although  I  was  forced  to  resent  his  ill-advised  interference  and  mistaken 
accusation,  this  episode  did  not  impair  my  personal  regard  for  Mr.  Bergh  and 
my  admiration  of  his  noble  works. 

In  the  spring  of  the  same  year,  1880, 1  erected  on  the  principal  street  of  Bridge- 
port a  fine  building  for  business  purposes.  It  was  built  behind  a  board  screen  or 
casing  the  full  height  of  the  structure.  Its  purpose  was  to  protect  the  workmen 
and  enable  them  (time  being  an  object)  to  work  regardless  of  inclement  weather, 
but  when,  the  work  being  finished,  the  screen  was  removed  in  the  night-time, 
and  early  risers  saw,  instead  of  unsightly  boards,  a  handsome  building  of  brick, 
with  granite  and  terra  cotta  ornaments,  and  a  fine  statue  of  America  gazing 
benignly  down,  from  her  alcove  in  the  second  story,  on  the  wondering  and  ad- 
miring crowd  below,  I  was  suspected  of  having  planned  a  very  effective  trans- 
formation scene. 


324  THE   GREAT   ALLIANCE. 

So  late  as  1880,  no  traveling  show  in  the  world  bore  any  comparison  with  my 
justly -called  "  Greatest  Show  on  Earth."  Other  show-managers  boasted  of  own- 
ing shows  equalling  mine,  and  some  bought  of  the  printers  large  colored  show- 
bills pictorially  representing  my  marvelous  curiosities,  although  these  managers 
had  no  performances  or  curiosities  of  the  kinds  which  they  represented.  The 
cost  of  one  of  their  shows  was  from  twenty  thousand  to  fifty  thousand  dollars, 
while  mine  cost  millions  of  dollars.  Their  expenses  were  three  hundred  to  seven 
hundred  dollars  per  day,  while  mine  were  three  thousand  dollars  per  day. 
The  public  soon  discovered  the  difference  between  the  sham  and  the  reality,  the 
natural  consequences  of  misrepresentation  followed  ;  the  small  showmen  made 
little  or  nothing,  some  went  into  bankruptcy  each  season,  while  mine  was 
always  crowded,  and  each  succeeding  year  showed  a  larger  profit. 

My  strongest  competitors  were  the  so-called  "Great  London  Circus.  Sanger's 
Royal  British  Menagerie  and  Grand  International  Allied  Shows."  Its  managers, 
Cooper,  Bailey  &  Hutchinson,  had  adopted  my  manner  of  dealing  with  the 
public,  and  consequently  their  great  show  grew  in  popularity. 

On  the  tenth  of  March,  1880,  while  in  Philadelphia,  one  of  their  large  ele- 
phants, Hebe,  became  a  mother.  This  was  the  first  elephant  born  in  captivity, 
and  the  managers  so  effectively  advertised  the  fact  that  the  public  became  wild 
with  excitement  over  the  "Baby  Elephant."  Naturalists  and  men  of  science 
rushed  in  numbers  to  Philadelphia,  examined  the  wonderful  ' '  little  stranger  " 
and  gave  glowing  reports  to  the  papers  of  this  country  and  of  Europe.  Illus- 
trated papers  and  magazines  of  this  and  foreign  lands  described  the  Baby  Ele- 
phant with  pen  and  pencil,  and  before  it  was  two  months  old  I  offered  the  lucky 
proprietors  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  cash  for  mother  and  baby.  They  glee- 
fully rejected  my  offer,  pleasantly  told  me  to  look  to  my  laurels,  and  wisely 
held  on  to  their  treasure. 

1  found  that  I  had  at  last  met  foemen  "  worthy  of  my  steel,"  and  pleased  to 
find  comparatively  young  men  with  a  business  talent  and  energy  approximating 
to  my  own,  I  met  them  in  friendly  council,  and  after  days  of  negotiation  w« 
decided  to  join  our  two  shows  in  one  mammoth  combination,  and,  sink  or  swim, 
to  exhibit  them  for,  at  least,  one  season  for  one  price  of  admission.  The  public 
were  astonished  at  our  audacity,  and  old  showmen  declared  that  we  could  never 
take  in  enough  money  to  cover  our  expenses,  which  would  be  fully  forty -five 
hundred  dollars  per  day.  My  new  partners,  James  A.  Bailey  and  James  L. 
Hutchinson,  sagacious  and  practical  managers,  agreed  with  me  that  the  experi- 
ment involved  great  risk,  but,  from  the  time  of  the  Jenny  Lind  Concerts,  the 
Great  Roman  Hippodrome  and  other  expensive  enterprises,  I  have  always  found 
the  great  American  public  appreciative  and  ready  to  respond  in  proportion  to 
the  sums  expended  for  their  gratification  and  amusement. 

This  partnership  entered  into,  we  conceived  the  idea  of  building  a  monster 
emporium  or  winter  quarters  to  accommodate  all  our  wild  animals,  horses, 
chariots,  railroad  cars,  and  the  immense  paraphernalia  of  the  united  shows,  in- 
stead of  distributing  the  same  in  different  localities.  We  inclosed  a  ten-acre  lot 
in  Bridgeport  adjacent  to  the  New  York,  New  Haven  and  Hartford  Railroad. 
In  this  inclosure  we  erected  an  elephant  house  one  hundred  feet  square,  kept 
heated  to  the  temperature  naturally  required  by  these  animals.  Here  thirty  to 
forty  elephants  are  luxuriously  housed  and  trained  to  perform  in  a  circus-ring 
in  the  center. 


THE   GREAT    ALLIANCE.  335 

In  another  large  building  the  lions,  tigers  and  leopards,  which  require  a  differ- 
ent temperature,  are  lodged  and  trained.  Still  another  accommodates  the  camels 
and  caged  animals.  The  monkeys  have  roomy  quarters  all  to  themselves,  where 
they  can  roam  and  work  their  mischievous  will  unrestrained.  The  amphibious 
animals,  hippopotami,  sea-lions,  etc.,  have  in  their  inclosure  a  huge  pond 
heated  by  means  of  steam  pipes,  where  the  elephants  are  permitted  their  great 
enjoyment,  a  bath.  A  building  three  hundred  feet  long  covers  eight  lines  of 
tracks  where  the  cars  are  stored,  and  these  tracks  are  all  connected  by  switches 
with  the  New  York,  New  Haven  and  Hartford  Railroad.  In  a  circus  ring 
exclusively  for  the  purpose  the  riders,  acrobats,  etc.,  practice  in  the  winter,  so 
as  not  to  lose  their  hard-won  skill  and  suppleness.  The  chariots  are  all  placed 
in  one  huge  store-house,  and  are  run  into  position  by  the  larger  elephants,  which, 
standing  behind  the  chariots,  put  their  heads  against  them,  and,  with  wonderful 
intelligence  and  docility,  push  them  in  place  at  the  direction  of  their  keeper. 
The  elephants  are  always  called  into  requisition  when  a  car  gets  off  the  switches, 
and  indeed  they  do  all  the  heavy  work  of  the  winter  quarters.  A  nursery  de- 
partment maintained  for  the  reception  and  careful  tending  of  new-born  animals 
adjoins  the  office  of  the  veterinary  surgeon.  The  harness,  paint  and  blacksmith 
shops  are  all  immense  and  distinct.  The  accommodations  include  stabling  for 
seven  hundred  of  our  best  horses,  and  store-rooms  for  canvas,  tent-poles  and  in- 
numerable properties.  Editors  and  artists  flocked  to  see  the  quickly-famous 
winter  quarters,  and  well-illustrated  articles  appeared  in  leading  periodicals. 
The  public  also  were  anxious  and  curious  to  see  the  workings  of  this  city  of 
wonders,  but  were  reluctantly  denied  admission,  as  visitors  deranged  the  neces- 
sarily strict  routine  of  the  establishment,  and  were  themselves  in  no  little  dan- 
ger, many  of  the  wild  animals  which  are  perfectly  tractable  when  alone  with 
their  keepers,  being  permitted  to  leave  their  cages  and  frolic  at  large  in  their 
respective  buildings.  The  signs  which  designate  the  different  buildings  are 
visible  from  all  trains  passing  through  Bridgeport. 

In  November  of  1880,  while  in  New  York  on  business,  I  was  suddenly  attacked 
by  an  almost  fatal  illness,  and  laid  for  many  weeks  between  life  and  death, 
unconscious  of  the  tender  solicitude  shown  me  by  countless  good  friends  in  this 
country,  and  the  cable  messages  of  inquiry  that  came  thickly  from  others  in 
foreign  lands ;  the  knowledge  of  all  which  will  be  ever  a  bright  and  grateful 
memory.  Dr.  Chapin,  then  on  his  death-bed,  sent  a  messenger  daily  ;  reporters 
besieged  the  house  at  all  hours,  and  contributed  bulletins  of  my  progress  or 
relapse  to  all  the  principal  New  York  papers  ;  while  the  Associated  Press  kept 
the  remoter  public  informed  by  telegraph  of  my  condition.  When  strong 
enough  I  went  to  Florida,  to  recuperate  in  that  delightful  climate,  returning  in 
April  to  take  up  my  old  avocations  with  the  old  zest,  and  little  less  than  the  old 
strength. 

The  Barnum  &  London  Circus  opened  in  New  York  March  18,  1881,  heralded 
by  a  torchlight  procession  through  the  city  on  Saturday  night,  March  16th, 
which  was  witnessed  by  more  than  half  a  million  of  people  and  pronounced  the 
most  brilliant  display  ever  seen  in  America.  A  New  York  paper  thus  described 
it: 


326  THE  GREAT  ALLIANCE. 

The  street  parade  Saturday  nigm  was  the  grandest  pageant  ever  witnessed  in  our 
streets,  and  fully  met  the  anticipations  of  the  thousands  of  spectators  thronging  the  entire 
route.  The  whole  equipment  and  display  was  magnificent,  without  a  single  weak  feature 
to  mar  the  general  effect.  The  golden  chariots,  triumphal  and  tableau  cars  were  more 
numerous,  more  ponderous,  more  elaborate  and  gorgeous  in  finish  than  any  other  establish- 
ment has  brought  here  ;  the  cages  of  wild  animals  were  more  numerous  than  usual,  many 
of  them  were  also  open,  and  their  trainers  rode  through  the  streets  in  the  cages  of  lions, 
tigers,  leopards,  hyenas  and  monster  serpents.  There  were  cars  drawn  by  teams  of  ele- 
phants, camels,  dromedaries,  zebras,  elk,  deer  and  ponies.  And  there  appeared  in  the 
grand  cavalcade  three  hundred  and  thirty-eight  horses,  twenty  elephants,  fourteen  camels, 
jet  black  dromedaries,  a  large  number  of  ponies,  zebras,  trained  oxen,  etc.,  also  three  hun- 
dred and  seventy  men  and  women.  The  cavalry  of  all  nations  was  represented  in  the 
various  uniforms  worn,  mounted  upon  superb  chargers,  and  the  costumes  throughout  were 
brilliant  and  beautiful.  Music  was  furnished  by  four  brass  bands  (one  composed  of  gen- 
uine Indians),  a  caliope,  a  fine  chime  of  bells,  a  steam  organ,  a  squad  of  Scotch  bag-pipers, 
and  a  company  of  genuine  plantation  negro  jubilee  singers. 

Electric  and  calcium  lights  illuminated  the  whole.  "Windows  were  sold  in  New 
York,  along  Broadway,  for  five  dollars,  eight  dollars  and  ten  dollars,  from  which 
to  view  the  pageant.  So  certain  were  we  that  this  great  street  pageant  and  the 
marvellous  combination  of  novelties  to  be  produced  throughout  the  season, 
would  totally  eclipse  any  former  show  enterprise,  that  on  Saturday,  March  26th, 
we  brought,  in  drawing-room  cars,  from  Washington,  D.  C. ,  and  Boston,  and  all 
the  principal  cities  on  those  routes,  the  editors  of  all  the  leading  papers.  These 
gentlemen,  nearly  one  hundred  in  number,  witnessed  the  torchlight  procession 
Saturday  night,  and  our  opening  performance  at  the  Madison  Square  Garden 
Monday  night,  March  28th.  They  were  lodged  at  hotels  at  our  expense,  and  by 
us  returned  to  their  homes  on  Tuesday  ;  a  very  costly  piece  of  advertising, 
which  yet  yielded  us  a  magnificent  return  in  the  enthusiastic  editorial  indorse^ 
ments  of  so  many  papers  of  good  standing,  whose  representatives  had  seen  our 
show  and  exclaimed  as  did  the  Queen  of  Sheba  to  King  Solomon,  "The  half 
was  not  told  me." 

The  following  extract  from  the  New  York  Herald  of  March  29th  will  give 
some  idea  of  the  variety  and  excellence  of  our  attractions  for  1881  : 

MADISON  SQUARE  GARDEN-BARNUM'S  CIRCUS  AND  SHOW. 

The  management  at  Madison  Square  Garden  have  redeemed  their  promise  to  give  the 
public  one  of  the  best  arenic  exhibitions  in  connection  with  a  menagerie  that  ever  has  been 
witnessed  in  New  York.  Long  before  the  doors  were  opened  they  were  besieged  by 
anxious  hundreds,  and  at  a  quarter  past  eight  o'clock  there  was  scarcely  a  seat  to  be  ob- 
tained in  the  vast  edifice.  It  was  stated  by  one  of  the  proprietors  that  about  nine  thousand 
persons  were  present,  and  fully  three  thousand  who  could  not  be  accommodated  were 
refused  admission.  The  spectacle  can  therefore  be  better  imagined  than  described.  Indeed 
it  was  worth  the  price  of  admission  alone  to  see  the  immense  crowd  and  note  the  intense 
interest  exhibited  by  all  classes  present,  from  the  representatives  of  wealth  ;tnd  fashion, 
who  were  there  in  large  numbers,  to  the  little  arabs  to  whom  a  circus  is  a  paradise.  The 
arrangements  for  the  convenience  of  the  audience  were  in  every  way  complete.  Each 
individual  was  provided  with  a  chair,  so  th.it  all  crowding  was  avoided,  while  an  ample 
supply  of  ushers  promptly  and  without  confusion  conducted  the  holders  of  tickets  to  their 
respective  places.  Everything  was  new  and  clean,  from  the  costumes  to  the  sawdust.  No 
bad  flavors  disturbed  the  nostrils ;  electric  lights  made  the  auditorium  as  bright  as  day ; 
the  ventilation  was  good  and  a  strong  force  of  police  were  present  to  preserve  order  had 
their  services  been  required.  The  only  drawback  to  the  performance  w;is  that  the  spectator 
was  compelled  to  receive  more  than  his  money's-worth  ;  in  other  words,  that  while  his 
head  was  turned  in  one  direction  he  felt  that  he  was  losing  something  good  in  another. 
Three  rings  were  provided,  marked  on  the  programmes  as  Circle  No.  1,  No.  2  and  No.  3; 
the  equestrianism  taking  place  in  the  two  outer  rings  and  the  central  space  being  reserved 
more  especially  for  what  are  technically  known  as  "ground  acts."  The  display  began  with 
the  usual  'pageant,  in  which  a  vast  number  of  rich'  dresses  and  handsome  animals  were 
exhibited,  after  which  there  was  a  general  introduction  of  the  most  notable  curiosities, 
including  General  Tom  Thumb  and  lady,  Chang,  the  Chinese  giant,  the  bearded  woman, 
the  American  baby  elephant,  giant  horse,  ox,  a  pair  of  giraffes  broken  to  harness,  and  other 
features.  Six  common  plow  oxen  were  next  shown,  after  which  followed  extraordinary 
performances  on  horseback,  gymnastic  and  athletic  exercises,  juggling,  wire-rope  walking, 
trapeze-flying  and  other  attractions  •'  too  numerous  to  mention."  Among  the  most  inter- 
esting portions  of  the  performance  were  the  military  drill  and  other  feats  by  twenty  trained 
elephants,  the  balancing  by  a  Japanese  family  and  the  extraordinary  jumping  of  the  group 
of  leapers  who  ended  the  programme.  The  clowns  wpre  exceptionally  good  and  one  or  two 
quite  original.  Altogether  the  show  is  well  worth  seeing. 


THE  GREAT  ALLIANCE.  327 

Very  early  in  the  traveling  season  of  1881,  we  enlarged  our  already  immense 
tents  three  different  times,  and  yet  so  great  was  the  multitude  that  attended  our 
exhibitions — many  coming  on  excursion  trains  twenty,  thirty  and  even  fifty 
miles — that  at  half  the  towns  we  visited  we  were  unable  to  accommodate  all  who 
came,  and  we  turned  away  thousands  for  want  of  room.  In  every  town  we  were 
patronized  by  the  elite,  and  frequently  the  public  and  private  schools,  as  well  as 
manufactories,  were  closed  on  "Barnum  Day,  "school  committees  and  teachers 
recognizing  that  children  would  learn  more  of  natural  history  by  one  visit  to 
our  menagerie  than  they  could  acquire  by  months  of  reading. 

In  Washington  President  Garfleld  told  me  he  always  attended  my  shows,  and 
when  Secretary  Blaine  said,  "  Well,  Barnum  !  all  the  children  in  America  are 
anxious  to  see  your  show,"  the  president  smilingly  added,  "Yes  !  Mr.  Barnum 
is  the  Kris  Kringle  of  America." 

Sir  Edward  Thornton,  the  British  Ambassador,  secured  seventy-five  seats  at 
one  of  our  exhibitions  in  Washington,  and  the  next  day  wrote  me  a  letter  in 
which  he  said,  "I  certainly  consider  it  the  best  organized  and  most  complete 
establishment  of  that  kind  that  I  have  ever  visited,  and  that  it  is  the  most  in- 
structive and  enjoyable."  General  Sherman  wrote,  "  I  say  without  hesitating 
that  it  surpasses  anything  of  the  kind  I  have  seen  in  America  or  Europe." 
I  received  the  autographic  indorsements  of  President  Garfield,  Vice-president 
Arthur,  Secretary  Blaine,  McVeagh,  Roscoe  Conkling,  Hunt,  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  Robert  T.  Lincoln,  T.  L.  James,  Senators  Frye,  Salisbury,  Lamar  and 
Platt  of  Connecticut,  Gov.  Hawley  and  most  of  the  foreign  ambassadors,  cabi- 
net ministers  and  United  States  senators.  The  furore  which  my  show  never 
fails  to  excite  everywhere  was  tersely  and  wittily  expressed  in  a  notice  posted 
up  in  a  factory  in  a  town  which  we  visited  last  season.  "  Closed  on  account  of 
the  greatest  interference  on  earth." 

The  immense  patronage  which  my  own  country  bestows  on  my  efforts  is  all 
that  keeps  me  from  taking  my  big  show  to  Europe,  where  my  name  is  as  well- 
known  as  in  America. 

For  years  showmen  have  asserted  that  I  did  not  own  my  show ;  others  assumed 
to  be  my  relatives  and  representatives.  Determined  to  put  down  these  false 
assertions  and  assumptions  I  sued  the  Philadelphia  Sun  for  $100,000  damages  in 
April,  1881,  for  saying  that  I  merely  hired  out  my  name.  The  publisher,  con- 
vinced of  his  error,  retracted  the  statement  and  apologized.  I  withdrew  the  suit, 
having  obtained  all  the  redress  I  desired.  In  May,  1881,  the  desire  to  acquire, 
for  my  show-season  of  1882,  attractions  which  only  my  personal  negotiations 
could  secure,  I  revisited  England,  sailing  in  the  "  Scythia."  After  four  pleasant 
weeks  I  returned  in  the  "  Gallia,"  successful  in  the  object  of  my  journey  and 
invigorated  by  that  finest  of  all  tonics,  a  sea-voyage.  Desiring  to  aid  in  beauti- 
fying the  village  of  Bethel,  it  being  my  birth-place,  from  which  a  busy  checkered 
life  has  never  alienated  my  interest,  I  presented  to  my  old  companions  a  bronze 
fountain  eighteen  feet  high,  made  in  Germany;  the  design  a  Triton  of  heroic 
size,  spouting  water  from  an  uplifted  horn.  It  was  a  gala  day  for  Bethel,  the 
streets  and  residences  were  decorated  with  flags  and  bunting,  a  procession  of 
police,  fire  companies  with  their  engines,  bands  of  music,  citizens  and  invited 
guests  in  carriages,  etc.,  paraded  the  town,  and  they  formed  in  line  around  the 
square,  newly  adorned  by  the  fountain.  All  of  which  was  described,  and  the 
fountain  illustrated  in  Frank  Leslie's  Illustrated  Newspaper  of  .Sept.  3,  1881. 
From  a  grand  stand  many  speeches  were  made,  and  as  my  old  friends  would  not 


328  THE    GREAT   ALLIANCE. 

permit  me  to  be  merely  a  listener  and  looker-on,  and  as  reminiscences  of  the  old 
days  presented  themselves  thickly  in  my  mind,  in  wide  and  often  amusing  con- 
trasts to  the  customs  and  conditions  of  to-day,  I  addressed  them. 

"  My  Friendt :  Among  all  the  varied  scenes  of  an  active  and  eventjul  life,  crowded  with 
strange  incidents  of  struggle  and  excitement,  of  joy  and  sorrow,  taking  me  oHen  through 
foreign  lands  and  bringing  me  face  to  face  with  the  king  in  his  palace  and  the  peasant 
in  his  turf-covered  hut,  I  have  invariably  cherished  with  the  most  affectionate  remembrance 
the  place  of  my  birth,  the  old  village  meeting-house,  without  steeple  or  bell,  where  in  its 
square  family  pew  I  sweltered  in  summer  and  shivered  through  my  Sunday-school  lessons 
in  winter,  and  the  old  school-house  where  the  ferule,  the  birchen  rod  and  rattan  did  active 
duty,  and  which  I  deserved  and  received  a  liberal  share.  I  am  surprised  to  find  that  I  can 
distinctly  remember  events  which  occurred  before  I  was  four  years  old. 

"  I  can  see  as  if  but  yesterday,  pur  hardworking  mothers  hetcheling  their  flax,  carding 
their  tow  and  wool,  spinning,  reeling  and  weaving  it  into  fabrics  for  bedding  and  clothing 
for  all  the  family  of  both  sexes.  The  same  good  mothers  did  the  knitting,  darning,  mend- 
ing, washing,  ironing,  cooking,  soap  and  candle  making,  picked  the  geese,  milked  the  cows, 
made  butter  and  cheese  and  did  many  other  things  for  the  support  of  the  family. 

"  We  babies  of  1810,  when  at  home,  were  dressed  in  tow  frocks,  and  the  garments  of  our 
elders  were  not  much  superior,  except  oa  Sunday,  when  they  wore  their  "go-to-meeting 
clothes"  of  homespun  and  linsey-woolsey. 

"  Rain  water  was  caught  and  used  for  washing,  while  that  for  drinking  and  cooking  was 
drawn  irom  wells  with  their  "old  oaken  bucket"  and  long  poles  and  well  sweeps. 

"  Fire  was  kept  over  night  by  banking  up  the  brands  in  allies  in  the  fire-place,  and  if  it 
A'ent  out  one  neighbor  would  visit  another  about  daylight  the  next  morning  with  a  pair  of 
tongs  to  borrow  a  coal  of  fire  to  kindle  with.  Our  candles  were  tallow,  home-made,  with 
dark  tow  wicks.  In  Bummer  nearly  all  retired  to  rest  at  early  dark  without  lighting  a  can- 
dle except  upon  extraordinary  occasions.  Home-made  soft-soap  was  used  for  washing 
hands,  faces  and  everything  else.  The  children  of  families  in  ordinary  circumstances  ate 
their  meals  on  trenchers  (wooden  plates).  As  I  grew  older  our  family  and  others  got  an 
extravagant  streak,  discarded  the  trenchers  and  rose  to  the  dignity  of  pewter  plates  and 
leaden  spoons.  Tin  peddlers  who  traveled  through  the  country  with  their  wagons  supplied 
these  and  other  luxuries.  Our  food  consisted  chiefly  of  boiled  and  baked  beans,  bean  por- 
ridge, coarse  rye  bread,  apple  sauce,  hasty  pudding  eaten  in  milk,  of  which  we  all  had 
plenty.  The  elder  portion  of  the  family  ate  meat  twice  a  day— had  plenty  of  vegetables. 
fish  of  their  own  catching,  and  occasionally  big  clams,  which  were  cheap  in  those  days,  and 
shad  in  their  season.  These  were  brought  from  Norwalk  and  Bridgeport  by  fish  and  clam 
peddlers.  Uncle  Caleb  Morgan  of  Wolfpits  or  Puppytown,  was  our  only  butcher.  He 
peddled  his  meat  through  Bethel  once  a  week.  It  consisted  mostly  of  veal,  lamb,  mutton 
or  fresh  pork,  seldom  bringing  more  than  one  kind  at  a  time.  Probably  he  did  not  have 
beef  oftener  than  once  a  month.  Many  families  kept  sheep,  pigs  and  poultry,  and  one  or 
more  cows.  They  had  plenty  of  plain  substantial  food.  Droves  of  hogs  ran  at  large  in  the 
streets  of  Bethel. 

"  When  one  of  the  neighbors  wanted  to  feed  his  hogs  he  went  out  in  the  street  and  called 
•  Pig,1  which  was  pretty  sure  to  bring  in  all  the  other  hogs  in  the  neighborhood.  I  remem- 
ber one  man,  called  '  Old  Chambers,'  who  had  no  trouble  in  this  respect,  and  he  was  the 
only  one  excepted  from  it.  He  had  a  peculiar  way  of  getting  his  hogs  from  the  general 
drove.  When  he  wanted  them  he  would  go  out  into  the  street  and  shout  Hoot !  hoot ! 
hoot !  At  this  cry  all  the  hogs  but  his  own  would  run  away,  but  they  understood  the  cry 
and  would  stand  still  and  take  the  meal. 

"Our  dinners  several  times  each  week  consisted  of  "pot  luck,"  which  was  corned  beef, 
salt  pork  and  vegetables,  all  boiled  together  in  the  same  big  iron  pot  hanging  from  the 
crane  which  was  supplied  with  iron  hooks  and  trammels  and  swung  in  and  out  of  the  huge 
fire-place.  In  the  same  pot  with  the  salt  pork,  potatoes,  turnips,  parsnips,  beets,  carrots, 
cabbage  and  sometimes  onions,  was  placed  un  Indian  pudding,  consisting  of  plain  Indian 
meal  mixed  in  water,  pretty  thick,  salted  and  poured  into  a  home-made  brown  linen  bag 
which  was  tied  at  the  top.  When  dinner  was  ready  the  Indian  pudding  \rasjirft  taken  from 
the  pot,  slipped  out  of  the  bag  and  eaten  with  molasses.  Then  followed  the  "pot-luck.'1 
I  confess  I  like  to  this  day  the  old-fashioned  "  boiled  dinner,"  but  doubt  whether  I  should 
relish  a  sweetened  dessert  before  my  meat.  Rows  of  sausages  called  "  links  "  hung  in  the 
garret,  were  dried  and  lasted  all  winter. 

"  I  remember  them  well,  and  the  treat  it  was  when  a  boy,  to  have  one  of  these  links  to 
take  to  school  to  eat.  At  noon  we  children  would  gather  about  the  great  fire-place,  and 
having  cut  a  long  stick  w-onld  push  the  sharpened  end  through  the  link,  giving  it  a  sort  of 
cat-tail  appearance.  The  link  we  would  hold  in  the  fire  until  it  was  cooked,  and  would 
then  devour  it  with  a  keen  relish. 

"  There  were  but  few  wagons  or  carriages  in  Bethel  when  I  was  a  boy.  Our  grists  of 
grain  were  taken  to  the  mill  in  bags  on  horseback,  and  the  women  rode  to  church  on  Sun- 
days and  around  the  country  on  week  days  on  horseback,  usually  on  a  cushion  called  a  pil- 
lion fastened  behind  the  saddle,  the  husband,  father,  brother  or  lover  riding  in  front  on  the 
saddle.  The  country  doctor  visited  his  patients  on  horseback,  carrying  his  saddle-bags 
containing  calomel,  jalap,  Epsom  salts,  lancet  and  a  turnkey,  those  being  the  principal  aids 
in  relieving  the  sick.  Nearly  every  person  sick  or  well  was  bled  every  spring. 


s 


BRONZE   FOUNTAIN    PRESENTED   TO    MY   NATIVE   TOWN. 


THE   GREAT   ALLIANCE.  320 

"  Teeth  were  pulled  with  a  turnkey,  and  a  dreadful  instrument  it  was  in  looks,  and  terri- 
ble in  execution.  I  can  remember  that  ouce  I  had  a  convenient  toothache.  Like  many 
other  boys  I  had  occasions,  when  school  was  distasteful  to  me,  and  the  hunting  for  birch  or 
berries,  or  going  after  fish  were  more  of  a  delight  than  the  struggle  after  knowledge. 
Tuis  toothache  struck  in  on  a  Monday  morning  in  ample  time  to  cover  the  school  hour.  I 
was  in  great  pain,  and  held  on  to  my  jaw  with  a  severe  grip.  My  mother's  sympathetic 
nature  permitted  me  to  stay  at  home  with  the  pain.  My  father  was  of  rather  sterner  stuff. 
He  didn't  discover  I  was  out  of  school  until  the  second  day.  When  he  found  out  I  had  the 
teethache,  he  wanted  to  see  the  tooth.  1  pointed  out  one,  and  he  examined  it  carefully. 
He  said  it  was  a  perfectly  sound  tooth,  but  he  didn't  doubt  but  it  pained  very  much,  and 
must  be  dreadful  to  bear,  but  he  would  have  something  done  for  it.  He  gave  me  a  note  to 
Dr.  Tyle  Taylor.  Dr.  Tyle  read  the  note,  looked  at  the  tooth,  and  then,  getting  down  the 
dreadful  turnkey,  growled,  "  Sit  down  there,  and  I'll  have  that  tooth  out  of  there,  or  I'll 
yank  your  young  head  o!f."  I  did  not  wait  for  the  remedy,  but  left  for  home  at  the  top  of 
my  speed— and  have  not  had  the  toothache  since. 

"  I  remember  seeing  my  father  and  our  neighbors  put  through  military  drill  every  day  by 
Capt.  Noah  Ferry  in  1814,  for  the  war  with  Great  Britain  of  1812-15. 

"  My  uncles,  aunts  and  others,  when  I  was  a  child,  often  spoke  about  ravages  of  Indians 
from  which  their  ancestors  had  suffered,  and  numbers  of  them  remembered  and  described 
the  burning  of  Danbury  by  the  British  in  1777. 

"  One  season  I  attended  the  private  school  of  Laureus  P.  Hickok  (now  Prof.  Hickok),  in 
which  his  sweetheart,  Eliza  Taylor,  was  also  a  scholar.  One  day  he  threw  a  ruler  at  my 
head.  I  dodged,  and  it  struck  Eliza  in  the  face.  He  quietly  apologized  and  said  she  might 
apply  that  to  some  other  time  when  she  might  deserve  it.  He  and  his  wife  are  still  living 
in  Andover,  Mass.,  a  happy  grey-haired  old  couple  of  eighty  or  more. 

"  Eliza's  father,  Esquire  Tom  Taylor,  sometimes  wore  white-topped  boots.  He  was  a 
large,  majestic-looking  man,  of  great  will-force,  and  was  considered  the  richest  man  in 
Bethel.  Mr.  Eli  Judd  was  marked  second  in  point  of  wealth.  Every  year  I  took  twelve 
dollars  to  Esquire  Tom  Taylor  to  pay  the  interest  on  a  two  hundred  dollar  note  which  my 
father  owed  him.  I  also  annually  carried  four  dollars  and  fifty  cents  to  Eli  Judd  for  interest 
on  a  seventy-five  dollar  note  which  he  held  against  my  father.  As  these  wealthy  men 
quietly  turned  over  each  note  filed  away  in  a  small  package  till  they  found  the  note  of  my 
father,  and  then  indorsed  the  interest  thereon,  I  trembled  with  awe  to  think  I  stood  in  the 
presence  of  such  wonderfully  rich  men.  It  was  estimated  that  the  richer  of  them  was 
actually  worth  three  thousand  dollars  ! 

"Esquire  Tom  made  quite  a  revolution  here  by  one  act.  He  got  two  yards  of  figured  car- 
pet to  put  down  in  front  of  his  bed  in  the  winter,  because  the  bare  board  floor  was  too  cold 
for  his  feet,  while  he  was  dressing.  This  was  a  big  event  in  the  social  life  of  that  day,  and 
Esquire  Tom  was  thought  to  be  putting  on  airs  which  his  great  wealth  alone  permitted. 

"  When  I  was  but  ten  years  old,  newspapers  came  only  once  a  week. 

"  The  man  who  brought  us  the  week's  papers  came  up  from  Norwalk,  and  drove  through 
this  section  with  newspapers  for  subscribers  and  pins  and  needles  for  customers.  He  was 
called  Uncle  Siiliman.  I  can  remember  well  his  weekly  visit  through  Bethel,  and  his  queer 
cry.  Oncoming  to  a  house  or  village  he  would  shout  'News!  Newsl  The  Lord  reigns!' 
One  time  he  passed  our  school-house  when  a  snow  storm  was  prevailing.  He  shouted  : 
'News!  News!  The  Lord  reigns — and  snows  a  little.1 

"It  took  two  days,  and  sometimes  more,  to  reach  New  York  from  Bethel  or  Danbury. 
My  father  drove  a  freight  or  market  wagon  from  Bethel  to  Norwalk.  Stage  passengers  for 
New  York  took  sloop  at  Norwalk,  sometimes  arriving  in  New  York  the  next  morning,  but 
were  often  detained  by  adverse  winds  several  days. 

"  Everybody  had  barrels  of  cider  in  their  cellars  and  drank  cider— spirits  called  "  gump- 
tion." Professors  of  religion  and  the  clergy  all  drank  liquor.  They  drunk  it  in  all  the  hat 
and  comb  shops,  the  farmers  had  it  at  hay  and  harvest  times.  Every  sort  of  excuse  was 
made  for  being  treated.  A  new  journeyman  must  give  a  pint  or  quart  of  rum  to  pay  his 
footing.  If  a  man  had  a  new  coat  he  must  "  sponge "  it  by  treating.  Even  at  funerals  the 
clergy,  mourners  and  friends  drank  liquor.  At  public  veudues  the  auctioneer  held  a  bottle 
of  liquor  in  Ins  hand  and  when  bidding  lagged  he  would  cry  "  a  dram  to  the  next  bidder," 
the  bid  would  be  raised  a  cent  and  the  bidder  would  take  his  dram  boldly  and  be  the  envy 
of  most  of  the  others. 

"The  public  whippingpost  and  imprisonment  ior  debt  both  flourished  in  Bethel  in  my 
youthful  days.  Suicides  were  buried  at  cross-roads.  How  blessed  are  we  to  live  in  a  more 
charitable  and  enlightened  age,  to  enjoy  the  comforts  and  conveniences  of  modern  tunes 
and  to  realize  that  the  world  is  continually  growing  wiser  and  better. 

"  I  sincerely  congratulate  my  native  village  on  her  character  for  temperance,  industry 
•and  other  good  qualities. 

"And  now,  my  friends,  I  t;ike  very  great  pleasure  in  presenting  this  fountain  to  the  town 
and  borough  of  Bethel  as  a  small  evidence  of  the  love  which  I  bear  them  and  the  respect 
which  I  feel  for  my  successors,  the  present  and  future  citizens  of  my  native  village. 

Our  Great  Barnum-London  Show  closed  its  season  at  Newport,  Arkansas, 
November  12,  1881,  from  whence  it  came  direct  to  its  Winter  Quarters,  at  Bridge- 
port, arriving  on  the  morning  of  November  nineteenth.  The  entire  show  trav- 
eled,' during  the  season  of  thirty-three  weeks,  12,266  miles.  Bay  City,  Michigan, 
was  the  furthest  point  north  which  the  Show  visited.  Bangor,  Maine,  the 
further  east ;  Galveston,  Texas,  the  furthest  south,  and  Omaha,  Nebraska,  the 
furthest  west. 


CHAPTER    LI  I. 

TWO   FAMOUS    ELEPHANTS. 

On  February  2, 1882,  "  Queen,"  one  of  my  twenty-two  elephants  gave  birth  to  a 
young  one  at  our  "  winter-quarters  "  in  Bridgeport.  The  event  had  long  been  an- 
ticipated and  thoroughly  published  throughout  America  and  Europe.  Scientists, 
all  over  the  country,  had  been  informed  that  the  period  of  gestation  being 
known  to  be  about  twenty  months,  a  "Baby  Elephant"  might  be  expected 
early  in  February.  The  public  press,  naturalists,  college  professors  and  agents 
of  zoological  gardens  in  Europe  were  on  the  qui  vive,  and  when  the  interesting 
event  was  imminent  it  was;  telegraphed  through  the  associated  press  to  all  parts 
of  the  United  States,  and  about  sixty  scientists,  medical  men  and  reporters 
arrived  in  time  to  be  present  at  the  birth.  The  next  morning  more  than  fifty 
columns  of  details  of  the  birth,  weight  and  name  of  the  Baby  Elephant  appeared 
in  the  American  papers,  and  notices  cabled  to  London  and  Paris  appeared  in  the 
morning  papers.  As  this  was  the  second  elephant  ever  born  in  captivity,  either 
in  America  or  Europe,  it  created  a  great  sensation.  Its  weight  was  only  one 
hundred  and  forty-five  pounds  at  birth.  We  named  it  "Bridgeport,"  after  the 
place  of  its  nativity  and  of  my  residence. 

We  opened  our  Great  Show  for  the  season  of  1SS2  on  Monday,  March  13th,  in 
Madison  Square  Garden,  New  York  City,  having  given  an  illuminated  street 
pageant  the  preceding  Saturday  evening,  which  eclipsed  all  similar  exhibitions 
ever  witnessed  in  America.  The  fame  of  the  "Baby  Elephant"  had  created 
quite  a  furore  in  the  public  mind,  and  from  the  very  first  night  of  opening,  our 
efforts  were  crowned  with  success  totally  unprecedented  in  the  show  business. 
Day  after  day,  and  night  after  night,  we  turned  away  multitudes  for  want  of 
room. 

' '  Jumbo,"  the  largest  elephant  ever  seen,  either  wild  or  in  captivity,  had  been  for 
many  years  one  of  the  chief  attractions  of  the  Royal  Zoological  Gardens,  London. 
I  had  often  looked  wistfully  on  Jumbo,  but  with  no  hope  of  ever  getting  posses- 
sion of  him,  as  I  knew  him  to  be  a  great  favorite  of  Queen  Victoria,  whose 
children  and  grandchildren  are  among  the  tens  of  thousands  of  British  juveniles 
whom  Jumbo  has  carried  on  his  back.  I  did  not  suppose  he  would  ever  be 
sold.  But  one  of  my  agents,  who  made  tho  tour  of  Europe  in  the  summer 
and  autumn  of  1881  in  search  of  novelties  for  our  big  show,  was  so  struck 
with  the  extraordinary  size  of  the  majestic  Jumbo  that  he  ventured  to 
ask  my  friend,  Mr.  Bartlett,  Superintendent  of  the  Zoological  Gardens,  if  he 
would  sell  Jumbo.  The  presumption  of  my  agent  startled  Mr.  Bartlett,  and  at 
first  he  replied  rather  sarcastically  in  the  negative,  but  my  agent  pushed  the 
question  and  said,  "Mr.  Barnum  would  pay  a  round  price  for  him."  Further 
conversation  led  my  agent  to  think  that  possibly  an  offer  of  $10,000  might  be 
entertained.  He  cabled  me  to  that  effect,  to  which  I  replied :  "1  will  give  ten 
thousand  dollars  for  Jumbo,  but  the  Zoo  will  never  sell  him."  Two  days  after- 
wards my  agent  cabled  me  that  my  offer  of  $10,000  for  Jumbo  was  accepted,  I 
to  take  him  in  the  Garden  as  he  stood.  The  next  day  I  dispatched  Mr.  Davis  by 
steamer  to  London,  with  a  bank  draft  for  £2000  sterling,  payable  to  the  order  of 

330 


TWO    FAMOUS    ELEPHANTS.  331 

the  Treasurer  of  the  Royal  Zoological  Gardens,  London.  From  that  time  an  ex- 
citement prevailed  and  increased  throughout  Great  Britain  which,  for  a  cause  so 
comparatively  trivial,  has  never  had  a  parallel  in  any  civilized  country.  The 
council  and  directors  of  the  Royal  Zoo  were  denounced  in  strong  terms  for  having 
sold  Jumbo  to  the  famous  Yankee  showman,  Barnum.  The  newspapers,  from 
the  London  Times  down,  daily  thundered  anathemas  against  the  sale,  and  their 
columns  teemed  with  communications  from  statesmen,  noblemen  and  persons  of 
distinction  advising  that  the  bargain  should  be  broken  at  all  risk,  and  promising 
that  the  money  would  be  contributed  by  the  British  public  to  pay  any  damages 
which  might  be  awarded  to  Barnum  by  the  courts.  It  is  said  that  the  Queen 
and  the  Prince  of  Wales  both  asked  that  this  course  should  be  adopted. .  I  re- 
ceived scores  of  letters  from  ladies  and  children,  beseeching  me  to  let  Jumbo 
remain,  and  to  name  what  damages  I  required  and  they  should  be  paid.  Mr. 
Laird,  the  ship-builder,  wrote  me  from  Birkenhead  that  England  was  as  able  to 
pay  "  Jumbo  claims  "  as  she  was  to  pay  the  "  Alabama  claims,"  and  it  would  be 
done  if  I  would  only  desist  and  name  my  terms.  All  England  seemed  to  run 
mad  about- Jumbo;  pictures  of  Jumbo,  the  life  of  Jumbo,  a  pamphlet  headed 
"Jumbo-Barnum,"  and  all  sorts  of  Jumbo  stories  and  poetry,  Jumbo  Hats, 
Jumbo  Collars,  Jumbo  Cigars,  Jumbo  Neckties,  Jumbo  Fans,  Jumbo  Polkas,  etc., 
were  sold  by  the  tens  of  thousands  in  the  stores  and  streets  of  London  and  other 
British  cities.  Meanwhile  the  London  correspondents  of  the  leading  American 
newspapers  cabled  columns  upon  the  subject,  describing  the  sentimental  Jumbo 
craze  which  had  seized  upon  Great  Britain.  These  facts  stirred  up  the  excite- 
ment in  the  United  States,  and  the  American  newspapers,  and  scores  of  letters 
sent  to  me  daily,  urged  me  not  to  give  up  Jumbo. 

The  editor  of  the  London  Daily  Telegraph  cabled  me  to  name  a  price  for  which 
I  would  cancel  the  sale,  and  permit  Jumbo  to  remain  in  London  : 

LONDON,  February  22. 
P.  T.  Barnum,  ff.  Y.: 

Editor's  compliments ;  all  British  children  distressed  at  Elephant's  departure  ;  hundreds 
of  correspondents  beg  us  to  inquire  on  what  terms  you  will  kindly  return  Jumbo.  Answer, 
prepaid,  unlimited. 

LESARGE,  Daily  Telegraph. 

I  cabled  back  as  follows  : 

NEW  YORK,  February  23,  1882. 
To  Letarge,  Daily  Telegraph,  London  : 

My  compliments  to  Editor  Daily  Telegraph  and  British  Nation.  Fifty-one  millions  of 
American  citizens  anxiously  awaiting  Jumbo's  arrival.  My  forty  years'  invariable  practice 
of  exhibiting  the  best  that  money  could  procure,  makes  Jumbo's  presence  here  imperative. 
Hundred  thousand  pounds  would  be  no  inducement  to  cancel  purchase.  My  largest  tent 
seats  20,000  persons,  and  is  filled  twice  each  day.  It  contains  four  rings,  in  three  of  which 
three  full  circus  companies  give  different  performances  simultaneously. 

In  the  large  outer  ring,  or  racing  track,  the  Roman  Hippodrome  is  exhibited.  In  two 
other  immense  connecting  tents  my  colossal  Zoological  collection  and  museum  are  shown. 
*  *  *  *  *  wishing  long  life  and  prosperity  to  British  Nation  and  Telegraph 
and  Jumbo,  I  am  the  public's  obedient  servant, 

P.  T.  BARNUM. 

This  dispatch  was  published  in  the  London  Daily  Telegraph  the  next  morning, 
and  was  sent  by  the  London  Associated  press  to  the  principal  newspapers  through- 
out Great  Britain,  which  republished  it  the  following  day,  giving  the  excitement 
an  immense  impetus.  Crowds  of  men,  women  and  children  rushed  to  the  "  Zoo  " 
to  see  dear  old  Jumbo  for  the  last  time,  and  the  receipts  at  the  gates  were  aug- 
mented nearly  two  thousand  dollars  per  day.  A  "  fellow  "  or  stockholder  of  the 
Royal  Zoo  sued  out  an  injunction  in  the  Chancery  Court  against  the  "council- 
lors "  of  the  Zoo  and  myself  to  quash  the  sale.  After  a  hearing,  which  occupied  two 
days,  the  sale  was  declared  valid,  and  Jumbo  was  decided  to  be  my  property.. 


332  TWO    FAMOUS    ELEPHANTS. 

The  fateful  day  arrived  when  Jumbo  was  to  bid  farewell  to  the  Zoo,  and  then 
came  the  tug  of  war.  The  unfamiliar  street  waked  in  Jumbo's  breast  the 
timidity  which  is  so  marked  a  feature  of  elephant  character.  He  trumpeted 
with  alarm,  turned  to  re-enter  the  Gardens,  and,  finding  the  gate  closed,  laid 
down  on  the  pavement.  His  cries  of  fright  sounded  to  the  uninitiated  like 
cries  of  grief,  and  quickly  attracted  a  crowd  of  sympathizers.  British  hearts 
were  touched,  British  tears  flowed  for  the  poor  beast  who  was  so  unwilling  to 
leave  his  old  home.  Persuasion  had  no  effect  in  inducing  him  to  rise,  force  was 
not  permitted,  and  indeed  it  would  have  been  a  puzzle  what  force  to  apply  to  so 
huge  a  creature.  My  agent,  dismayed,  cabled  me,  "Jumbo  has  laid  down  in 
the  street  and  won't  get  up.  What  shall  we  do  '. "  I  replied,  "  Lot  him  lie  there 
a  week  if  he  wants  to.  It  is  the  best  advertisement  in  the  world."  After 
twenty -four  hours  the  gates  of  his  paradise  were  reopened  and  Jumbo  allowed 
to  return  to  his  old  quarters,  while  my  agents  set  to  work  to  secure  him  by 
strategy.  A  huge  iron-bound  cage  was  constructed  with  a  door  at  each  end 
and  mounted  on  broad  wheels  of  enormous  strength.  This,  with  the  doors 
openj  was  backed  up  against  the  door  entrance  to  Jumbo's  den,  and  the  wheels 
sunk  so  that  the  floor  of  the  cage  was  on  a  level  with  that  of  the  elephant's.  A 
passageway  was  thus  formed  through  which  Jumbo  must  pass  to  reach  the 
outer  air.  After  much  hesitation,  he  was  persuaded  to  follow  nis  keeper,  Scott 
through  this  cage  to  take  his  daily  airing.  For  several  days  this  ruse  wa: 
repeated,  then,  as  he  entered  the  cage,  the  door  behind  him  was  swiftly  closed, 
then  the  door  in  front  of  him,  and  Jumbo  was  mine. 


On  account  of  the  national  interest  manifested  in  "Jumbo,"  we  presume  the  "  British 
Lion  "  is  for  the  time  forgotten  ;  and  we  therefore  suggest  the  above  as  the  most  appropri- 
ate coat-of-arms  for  England.— London  Fun. 

Meanwhile  Jumbo  came  up  in  Parliament,  where  the  President  of  the  Board 
of  Trade  was  questioned  in  regard  to  precautions  being  taken  to  protect  the 
passengers  on  shipboard.  Mr.  Lowell,  our  American  Minister  to  the  Court  of 


TWO    FAMOUS    ELEPHANTS.  333 

St.  James,  in  a  speech  given  at  a  public  banquet  in  London,  playfully  remarked, 
"the  only  burning  question  between  England  and  America  is  Jumbo."  The 
London  Graphic,  Illustrated  News,  Punch,  and  all  the  London  papers  published 
scores  of  pictures  and  descriptions  of  Jumbo,  in  prose  and  poetry,  for  several 
weeks  in  succession. 

On  the  morning  of  his  capture,  March  25,  1882,  the  wheels  of  his  cage  were 
dug  free  of  the  ground,  twenty  horses  attached,  and  in  the  comparative  silence 
of  the  following  night,  Jumbo  was  dragged  miles  to  the  steamship,  Assyrian 
Monarch,  where  quarters  had  been  prepared  for  him  by  cutting  away  one  of 
the  decks.  The  Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Animals  hovered  over 
Jumbo  to  the  last,  and  titled  ladies  and  little  children  brought  to  the  ship 
baskets  of  dainties  for  Jumbo's  consumption  during  the  voyage. 

After  a  rough  passage  he  arrived  in  New  York,  in  good  condition,  Sunday 
morning,  April  9th,  and  next  day  was  placed  on  exhibition  in  the  menagerie 
department  of  our  Great  Show  where  he  created  such  a  sensation  that  in  the 
next  two  weeks  the  receipts  in  excess  of  the  usual  amount  more  than  repaid 
us  the  $30,000  his  purchase  and  removal  had  cost  us.  Being  a  little  wearied 
after  the  excitement  of  this  achievement,  and  knowing  well  that  there  is  no 
rest  and  recuperative  like  a  sea  voyage,  I  sailed  with  my  wife  in  the  City  of 
Rome,  for  Liverpool,  the  latter  part  of  May.  We  spent  most  of  our  time  at 
the  home  of  my  wife's  parents  in  Lancashire,  making  brief  trips  to  London, 
visits  made  pleasant  by  the  social  attentions  of  old  friends.  I  was  present  at 
the  dinner  given  by  Mr.  Henry  Irving,  the  eminent  actor,  on  the  stage  of  his 
Lyceum  Theatre,  June  25th.  About  seventy  gentlemen  of  note  were  present, 
including  Lord  Lytton,  the  Lord  Mayor  Sir  Julius  Benedict,  Dion  Boucicault, 
etc.  The  banquet  was  enlivened  by  speeches,  and  much  humor  and  repartee. 
The  Lord  Mayor  jocosely  asked  me  what  countryman  I  was.  I  replied,  "A 
Yankee."  Augustus  Sala,  whose  ready  wit  is  proverbial,  immediately  said,  "  I 
can  prove  that  Barnum  is  more  English  than  American."  "How  is  that  ?" 
asked  Mr.  Henry  Irving.  "  Because  his  better-half  is  English,"  was  the  famous 
editor's  reply. 

I  also  attended,  by  special  invitation,  a  grand  Military  Tournament  at  the 
Agricultural  Hall,  at  which  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales,  the  Duke  of 
Cambridge,  and  other  members  of  the  Royal  Family,  were  present.  My  seat 
was  located  within  a  few  feet  of  the  Royal  box.  During  the  entertainment, 
some  sixty  of  the  Royal  Life  Guards,  mounted  on  their  jet-black  steeds,  gave 
what  is  called  the  ' '  Musical  Ride,"  consisting  of  an  ingenious  and  exciting  series 
of  marches,  countermarches,  evolutions  and  figures,  not  unlike  those  presented 
in  the  ' '  grand  entrees  "  of  my  circus  rings.  The  large  area  of  the  Agricultural 
Hall  gave  space  for  elaboration.  When  I  was  pointed  out  to  the  Prince  of 
Wales  and  the  Duke  of  Cambridge,  they  rose  and  gave  me  a  good  stare,  and 
then  smilingly  conversed.  I  fancy  that,  remembering  my  success  in  securing 
"Jumbo,"  these  royal  personages  were  wondering  whether  I  contemplated 
coming  down  with  a  swoop  and  carrying  the  Royal  Life  Guards  off  to  America ' 

The  success  of  the  Great  Show  during  the  season  of  1882  is  well  and  briefly 
chronicled  in  the  following  extract  : 


334  TWO    FAMOUS    ELEPHANTS. 

[From  Harper's  Weekly,  November  4, 1882.] 

Few  persons,  ontside  of  those  immediately  engaged  in  its  management,  have  any  idea  of 
the  vast  amount  of  labor  and  money  required  to  run  a  first-class  circus.  Mr.  Barnum, 
having  recently  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  interviewers,  has  given  to  the  public  press 
some  points  concerning  his  "Greatest  Show  on  Earth  "  that  are  of  curious  interest.  For 
instance,  a  single  item  of  expenditure  amounts  to  a  snug  fortune,  viz.,  that  of  wintering  the 
animals  and  their  keepers,  trainers  and  attendants,  and  getting  matters  into  shape  for  the 
spring  opening.  Last  year,  said  the  veteran  showman,  this  cost  nearly  a  quarter  of  a 
million  dollars,  and  that  during  a  time  when  not  a  dollar  was  being  earned.  But  large  as 
it  is,  the  cost  of  wintering  is  a  mere  "flea-bite"  to  that  of  securing  fresh  novelties.  For 
this  purpose  scores  of  agents  under  large  salaries  are  sent  around  the  world  every  year  to 
gather  up  the  best  of  all  that  is  new,  regardless  of  expense.  This  year  men  have  gone  on 
these  errands  to  fur-away  countries  where  no  show  agent  ever  before  appeared.  To  meet 
the  necessities  of  but  one  of  these  agents  $70,000  were  recently  deposited  with  Messrs. 
Brown  Brothers  &  Co.  One  of  the  most  costly  ventures  was  the  Jumbo  affair.  The  fig- 
ures are  not  given,  but  the  round  outlay  is  said  to  have  been  enormous.  Another  impor- 
tant item  this  year  was  the  printing,  which  cost  $175,000  exclusive  of  newspaper  advertis- 
ing. The  gross  receipts  of  the  season-  of  thirty-one  weeks  were  a  million  and  three- 
quarters  of  dollars.  The  receipts  in  New  York  were  nearly  $60,000  per  week.  In  Phila- 
delphia, $69,115.85  were  taken  in.  six  days,  four  of  which  were  rainy,  auU  iu  Boston  a  single 
week  rolled  iu  §74,051.03. 


CHAPTER    LIII. 

THE    WHITE    ELEPHANT. 

On  the  9th  of  August,  1S83,  ' '  my  wife  and  I  "  made  our  usual  summit-  trip  to 
Europe,  being  mot,  as  always,  by  my  father-in-law,  John  Fish,  who.  on  this 
occasion,  said,  "Mr.  Barnum,  I  am  always  glad  to  see  you  set  your  foot  on 
English  soil,  for  I  really  believe  that  every  voyage  you  make  across  the  Atlantic 
adds  a  year  to  your  life." 

"Then  I  will  hereafter  make  two  trips  a  year,"  I  replied,  which  set  my  mat- 
ter-of-fact English  father-in-law  to  practicing  arithmetic,  in  order  to  discover 
how  long  I  should  live  if  I  became  purser  of  a  steamship,  and  made  a  dozen 
trans- Atlantic  trips  a  year  ! 

Among  the  pleasantest  of  our  fellow-passengers  on  the  Adriatic,  I  count  Sir 
Charles  Lees,  then  Governor-General  of  the  Bahamas,  sometime  prominent  rep- 
rasentative  of  the  British  government  in  Africa  and  Asia.  I  had  with  me 
several  agents,  on  their  way  to  these  countries  to  secure  natives  for  my  Ethno- 
logical Congress.  The  knowledge  of  strange  tribes  and  races  which  Sir  Charles 
had  acquired  during  long  residence  in  foreign  countries,  he  not  only  obligingly 
imparted  to  them,  but  gave  them  letters  of  introduction  which  were  of  much 
service  to  them  in  Siam,  Burmah,  India,  etc.,  and  placed  me  under  further 
indebtedness  by  introducing  me  to  the  Foreign  Office  in  London.  Though  our 
busy  hours  may  prevent  our  exchanging  the  visits  we  so  faithfully  promised 
each  other,  I  shall  always  retain  the  pleasantest  memory  of  this  genial,  cultured 
Englishman,  and  the  conversations  and  stories  with  which  we  abbreviated  the 
voyage.  Touching  Mackey,  the  California  millionaire,  he  told  a  story  that  lost 
none  of  its  point  because  of  the  deliberate,  dryly  humorous  manner  of  narrating. 
Mackey,  he  said,  was  present  on  one  occasion  when  Sir  Charles,  as  the  Queen's 
representative,  opened  the  Parliament  at  Nassau,  with  much  bravery  of  ermined 
robes,  and  due  observance  of  ceremonies.  In  his  speech,  he  spoke  of  the  govern- 
ment debt  as  amounting  to  £60,000.  Afterward,  Mackey  said,  "Is  that  really 
all  you  owe  ?" 

"  That  is  all,"  replied  Sir  Charles. 

"  Well,"  said  the  money  king,  with  a  comical  smile,  "  Ihave  a  devilish  r;oo<l 
mind  to  give  you  a  check  for  it !  " 

In  the  summer  of  1883  my  little  friend  Tom  Thumb  died  of  apoplexy.  He 
was  at  the  time  of  his  death  a  portly  little  man,  of  middle  age,  and  iu  prosper- 
ous circumstances.  His  widow,  the  charming  little  Lavinia,  of  Chapter 
XXXVII,  has  since  married  again,  and  is  now  known  as  the  Countess  Magri. 
In  November  I  had  the  pleasure  of  entertaining  at  Waldemere  Mr.  Matthew 
Arnold,  on  the  occasion  of  his  lecturing  in  Bridgeport. 

The  official  accounts  of  the  show  at  the  end  of  the  traveling  season  gave  much 
cause  for  congratulation.  The  expenses  for  the  season  amounted  to  $1,034,000, 
or  more  than  $6, 000  for  each  of  the  176  exhibition  days,  out  of  which  six  per- 
formances were  lost.  A  glance  at  some  of  these  records  of  receipts  will  show 
where  we  get  enough  to  pay  $6,000  a  day  and  still  have  sufficient  to  make  a  very 
satisfying  division  of  profits  at  the  end  of  the  season.  Take  the  six  days  in 
Philadelphia:  April  30tb,  $8,416.75;  May  1st,  $12,000.15;  May  2d,  $16,382.15; 
May  3d,  $17,187.25;  May  4th,  $16,064.80;  May  5tb,  $10,053.10— aggregating  a 

335 


336  THE    WHITE    ELEPHANT. 

grand  total  of  $80,130.20  from  that  city  alone.  Out  of  Chicago,  in  the  ten  days, 
from  June  4th  to  June  14th,  both  inclusive,  the  show  took  $119,172.30.  Then 
take  the  single  day's  receipts  into  notice  :  Detroit,  $15,538.10;  Cleveland, 
$14,763.20;  Pittsburgh,  $14,376.20;  Cincinnati,  $14,133.65;  Toronto,  $13,864.80; 
Hamilton,  $13,451.50;  Toledo,  $13,372.25;  Baltimore,  $13,352.05;  Washington, 
$13,294.90  ;  Louisville,  $12,937.75,  Montreal,  $15,896.  T5;  Brooklyn,  $13,732.00. 

I  was  the  recipient  of  a  very  novel  compliment  at  Christmas.  Lal>ouchere, 
M.  P.,  the  publisher  of  London  Tmth,  dubbed  his  Christmas  number  "  Barnum 
in  Britishland,"  and  every  line  was  devoted  to  imaginary  interviews  of  P.  T. 
Barnum  with  the  most  prominent  Britishers,  beginning  with  a  hob-nobbing 
tete-d-tete  with  the  Prince  of  Wales.  It  was  a  witty  hit  (done  up  in  rhyme)  at 
the  foibles,  follies,  customs,  fashions  and  sharp  practices  supposed  to  exist  in 
Britishland.  The  sale  reached  a  third  edition,  and  exceeded  by  many  thousands 
that  of  any  previous  season.  The  gratuitous  advertisement  was  highly  appre- 
ciated by  me. 

The  New  York  Sun,  about  the  same  time,  published  the  following  : 

Under  the  moral  influence  of  a  great  illuminated  motto— "  Whatsoever  ye  would  that 
men  should  dp  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them  " — in  his  luxuriously  furnished  parlor  at 
Waldemere,  his  country  seat  near  Bridgeport,  the  reporter  found  the  venerable  showman, 
P  T.  Barnum.  Plump,  ruddy  lively  and  active,  the  veteran  looked  as  if  he  had  juggled 
away  a  score,  at  least,  of  his  seventy-four  years.  "  But  I'm  getting  pretty  well  on  in 
years."  he  said,  "  for  I  was  born  on  July  5,  1810." 

•'What  is  your  actual  present  physical  condition  ?"  the  reporter  asked, 

"  I  don't  positively  know,  without  trying,  whether  I  could  turn  a  somersault  or  not,  but 
the  chances  are  that  I  could,  at  least,  as  well  as  ever.  At  all  events,  I  never  was  better  in 
my  life.  I  eat  well,  sleep  well,  and  enjoy  the  most  perfect  health.  Perhaps  to  maintain 
this  condition  I  should  walk  more  than  I  do,  but  I  walk  some,  and  go  out  riding  every  day 
twice.  All  the  disease  I  have  is  old  age,  and  my  neighbors  say  1  should  not  plead  that,  for 
I'm  as  young  as  most  men  of  sixty.  The  sickness  I  had  in  New  York  three  years  ago, 
when  the  doctors  gave  me  up,  was  the  only  one  1  had  in  many  years,  and  seems  to  have 
renovated  me— given  me  a  new  lease  of  life." 

"  What  have  besn  and  are  the  personal  habits  that  have  conduced  to  such  a  good  result? " 

1  Primarily,  regularity ;  secondarily,  abstinence  from  things  that  tend  to  shorten  life. 
Sometimes,  when  neighbors  do  not  come  to  me  I  go  out  to  them  in  the  evenings  and  play  a 
game  of  whist,  and  occasionally  I  go  to  the  theatre,  but  as  a  rule  I  am  in  bed  by  10  o  clock 
every  night.  All  my  work,  directing  my  personal  business,  conducting  my  correspondence, 
and  communicating  with  my  partners,  I  do  in  the  forenoons,  getting  through  it  in  time  for 
a  drive  before  my  dinner,  which  I  take  in  the  middle  of  the  day.  After  dinner  I  am 
accustomed  to  doze  for  three  or  five  minutes.  If  I  just  lose  consciousness  that  long  I  am 
as  much  refreshed  as  If  I  had  slept  for  hours.  After  that  I  take  another  drive.  In  the 
evening  an  hour's  reading,  a  few  games  of  cribbage  or  whist,  or  a  little  music  fills  up  the 
time  until  my  hour  for  retiring  I  am  always  up  by  7  o'clock  in  the  morning." 

"How  long  have  you  maintained  such  regular  habits?  " 

''  AR  far  as  practicable  since  1847,  when  I  became  a  teetotaller,  although  when  I  was  a 
traveling  showman  my  hours  were  necessarily  not  so  good." 

"Did  you  drink  much  prior  to  1847?  " 

"  Well,  I  wouldn't  have  allowed  anybody  to  tell  me  so.  but  when  I  look  back  over  that 
time  I  know  now  that  I  did.  When  I  built  my  magnificent  Oriental  country  seat  Iranistan. 
I  was  proud  of  the  house,  but  ten  times  prouder  of  my  wine  cellar  than  of  anything  else  I 
had.  I  was  not  in  the  habit  of  dvinking  distilled  liquors,  but  every  day  at  dinner  took  my 
bottle  of  champagne,  or  its  equivalent  in  other  wines  or  malt  liquors.  I  did  no  business 
after  noon,  and  my  mother-in-law  used  to  say  sometimes  t  .at  I  was  '  heady'  after  dinner 
I  felt  quite  offended  by  the  suggestion,  and  threatened  to  go  back  to  whisky  if  it  was 
repeated,  for  I  really  considered  myself  quite  a  temperance  man,  since  I  drank  only  wine, 
and  thought  my  after-dinner  feelings  were  due  to  overeating  rather  than  drinking.  But 
I  got  the  Rev.  Dr.  Chnpin  to  come  up  to  Bridgeport  and  deliver  a  temperance  lecture,  for 
the  subject  of  which  he  took  'The  Moderate  Drinker,'  and  I  saw  myself  in  quite  a  new 
light.  I  realized  for  the  first  time  the  bad  example  I  was  setting,  and  when  I  went  home 
that  night  was  so  worried  that  I  could  scarcely  sleep.  The  next  morning  I  had  my  coach- 
man knock  the  necks  off  all  the  champagne  bottles  I  had  in  my  cellar,  so  i:e  five  or  six 
dozen ;  the  port  and  other  medicinal  wines  I  gave  away  in  cases  of  sickness,  and  the 
liquors  I  returned  to  the  dealers.  That  was  the  end  of  my  drinking.  As  young  bumblebees 
are  biggest  when  they  are  first  hatched,  so  I  was,  in  the  first  heat  of  my  conversion,  an 
enthusiast  on  the  subject  of  teetotalism.  I  went  all  over  Connecticut  and  New  York 
delivering  free  lectures  on  the  subject,  and  even  went  out  to  Wisconsin,  stumped  the  State 
at  my  own  expense,  and  at  least  helped  to  carry  it  on  a  temperance  platform." 

"  You  shut  oft' on  tobacco  also?  " 


THE    WHITE    ELEPHANT. 


s&i&mx&ssssa 


time  to  buy  and  hold  on  for  a  raise 


dld  y°U  take  the  *"»"•  *>  call  a  concha  of 
""1     *  "     CaS6  °f  Prank  Le8lle 


me  estate  to  make  the  ILtht.    As  a  measurn  nf  M*.,.*!/.  .  T -?ii'  ;  •  '      "  lllen  s°  an"  apply 

s^^-iSKsS&^^^S^1^ 

that  they  believed  me  to  be  of  souad  mind  J          688  my  Wl11'  but  make  oath 

••Independent  of  the  donations  you  have  made  to  advance  your  own  landed  interest- 
yon  have  given  largely  solely  for  the  public  good,  have  y<  u  not  *  " 

.»F,o»  the  fl"i  j^l  V,1  utho  ??urse  of  the  interview,  Mr.  Barnum  spoke  with  manifest 
reluctance  "  I  think,"  he  said.  "  that  it  is  not  a  becoming  thing  jn  me  to  recapitulate  what 
my  good  fortune  has  enabled  me  to  do  for  my  friendl  and  neighbors,  forso  I  deem  al 
Br  dgepor  There  ivr«  doubtless  many  among  them  who,  h  ,d  they  been  equally  ancrasfe 
In  having  the  means  to  dispose  of,  would  have  been  at  least  as  liberal  as  I  have  been  I 
had  been  lucky,  and  naturally  wished  those  about  me  to  have  some  share  in  my  Inck  It 
will  all  be  told  when  I  am  gone.  In  this  matter  I  should,  for  once,  prefer  to  drop  the 
showman  and  not  seem  to  be  •  blowing  my  own  horn.' " 

V  Let  me  speak  for  him,"  interpolated  a  friend  who  was  present,  "  as  I  believe  I  can  cor- 
rectly, so  far,  at  least,  as  the  main  things  deserving  of  mention.  Many  years  ago  he  and 
his  then  associate,  Gen.  Noble,  donated  to  the  City  of  Bridgeport,  Washington  Park  a 
beautiful  grove  surrounded  by  churches  and  fine  residences,  which  the  city  would  not  sell 
now  for  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars.  Then  he,  individually,  gave  the  city  £70000 
worth  more  of  land  for  park  purpose?,  on  condition  that  the  city  is  bound  to  foreVer 
maintain  it  as  a  park,  and  always  to  have  a  free  bathing  ground  on  Its  front.  In  the  City 
Cemetery  he  gave  several  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  lots  for  a  burial  plot  for  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic;  as  much  more  for  the  Fire  Department  of  Bridgeport;  three 
thousand  single  graves  for  poor  people,  on  condition  that  they  should  be  scattered  all  over 
the  cemetery,  not  located  in  any  one  place  together,  where  the  ^pot  might  come  to  be 
known  by  the  opprobrious  name  of  Potter's  Field,  and  the  further  c  ndition  that  the  very 
poor  shall  be  buried  for  nothing,  and  in  no  case  shall  more  than  $-2  be  charged,  instead  of 
the  ordinary  rate  of  $7.  In  addition  to  all  that,  he  gave  some  $50,000  worth  of  land  for  the 
cemetery.  In  his  native  town  of  Bethel,  a  few  miles  from  here,  he  erected  a  fountain  that 
cost  him  $10,000  in  Berlin,  and  with  'lie  fitting  up  and  ground  about  it,  represented  *20  000 
at  least.  He  gave " 

"There!  There!  Stop!"  interposed  Mr.  Barnum.  "No  more  of  that.  To  sit  here 
and  listen  to  you  going  on  in  that  way  makes  me  feel  as  if  you  were  reading  my 
obitflary  aloud." 


338  THE    WHITE    ELEPHANT. 

To  add  to  the  attractions  of  "  The  Great  Combined  Show  "  during  the  season 
of  1884,  my  agents  in  Africa  and  in  India  and  other  parts  of  Asia,  among  whom 
were  Messrs.  J.  B.  Gaylord,  Charles  White,  and  Thomas  H.  Davis,  after  many 
months  residence  in  those  lands,  procured  a  number  of  additional  ethnological 
specimens  for  exhibition  in  my  "  Grand  Congress  of  the  Nations."  These  nov- 
elties included  specimens  of  the  follow  ing  tribes,  namely:  Nubian  warriors, 
Zulu  chiefs,  Afghans,  Hindus,  Todas  Indians,  and  Singing  and  Dancing  Nautch 
Girls  of  India.  A  preliminary  private  exhibition  of  these  ethnological  rarities 
was  given  to  members  of  the  press  and  of  the  clergy  in  Madison  Square  Garden, 
New  York,  on  the  afternoon  of  March  15,  1884,  which  was  attended  with  the 
customary  success.  In  the  evening  of  the  same  day  they  were  introduced  to 
the  public  as  part  of  the  Great  Show. 

The  particular  additional  feature,  however,  by  which  the  season  of  1884  was 
made  memorable,  was  the  exhibition  for  the  first  time  in  any  civilized  country 
of  that  rare  and  beautiful  animal,  which  for  ages  has  been  recognized  in  Siam. 
Burmah,  and  other  Buddhist  countries  as  the  "  Royal  Sacred  White  Elephant." 
This  absolutely  unique  curiosity  was  accompanied  by  a  Burmese  orchestra  and 
a  retinue  of  Buddhist  priests  in  full  ecclesiastical  costume,  the  sacred  animal 
being  surrounded  by  the  same  attendants  and  the  like  paraphernalia  as  during 
the  performance  of  religious  ceremonies  in  his  native  country.  The  priests 
were  also  supplied  with  documents,  under  the  royal  seal,  attesting  the  sacred 
character  of  the  beast,  and  with  the  royal  bill  of  sale  executed  by  King  Thee- 
baw's  Master  of  Elephants,  and  also  bearing  the  king's  seaL 

L  n nl  my  a^eut  first  visited  Bangkok,  the  capital  of  ISiam,  and  there  saw  the 
king's  "  Sacred  White  Elephants/'  I  had  supposed  that  they  were  literally  white, 
instead  of  technically  so.  Those  who  had  not  seen  these  animals,  nor  read 
authentic  descriptions  of  them,  had  the  same  idea  as  mj^self.  When,  therefore, 
my  Sacred  Elephant  arrived  in  London,  a  large  portion  of  the  public,  having 
expected  to  see  a  milk-white  elephant,  were  disappointed.  The  f  olio  wing  article, 
which  I  clip  from  the  New  York  Tribune  of  Feb.  17,  gives  the  facts  in  the  case: 

P.  T.  Barnum  and  his  partners  have  dispelled  a  wide-spread  popular  illusion,  that  the  so- 
called  sacred  white  elt-pliants  of  the  kings  of  Siam  and  Bunnah  either  are,  or  ever  were, 
literally  white.  They  ^ay  they  have  secured  as  perfect  a  specimen  of  this  aniuinl  as  exists 
anywhere,  and  they  do  not  claim  that  it  is  •'  white"  in  the  strict  sense  of  tisat  word, 
yet,  it  is  the  same  ppecies,  and  exact  counterpart  of  those  white  sacred  elephants  wor- 
shiped for  centuries  by  the  Buddhists.  Up  to  this  time,  no  European  monarch  has  ever 
been  able  to  procure  '•  a  sticred  white  elephant,"  or  even  get  it  into  a  Christian  country,  and 
in  that  Barnura  has  succeeded. 

A  rival  showman,  -who  labored  under  the  "  popular  "  illusion,  had  a  common 
elephant  painted  milk-white,  and  so  exhibited  it  for  a  time  as  a  genuine  specimen 
purchased  in  Siam.  Two  leading  New  York  illustrated  papers,  early  in  1882,  were 
deceived  into  publishing  pictures  of  this  '•  pure  white  :'-washed  animal  as  a  gen- 
uine Sacred  White  Elephant  from  Siam.  The  owner  of  this  imposition  soon 
announced  that  it  had  suddenly  died.  It  was  simply  •un-dyed  !  And  thus 
another  proof  added  to  millions  which  have  preceded  it,  demonstrates  that 
truth  will  always  triumph  over  falsehood. 

In  his  own  land  the  white  elephant  is  huld  in  the  utmost  veneration  ;  and  as 
the  people  believe  that  if  one  of  them  leaves  their  country  his  departure  will  be 
the  signal  for  dire  calamities  to  them  ;  and  as,  moreover,  any  person  who  is 
instrumental  in  sending  one  out  of  the  country  without  the  royal  permission  is 
liable  to  the  penalty  of  death,  the  difficulty  of  procuring  one  for  exportation  has 
hitherto  been  so  great  as  to  have  proved  insurmountable.  As,  however,  it  has 


THK    WHITE    ELEPHANT.  330 

ever  been  my  aim  to  bring  together  under  our  tents,  utterly  regardless  of  cost, 
the  real  marvels  of  this  wonderful  earth,  I  determined,  if  possible,  even  at  the 
cost  of  half  a  million  dollars,  if  necessary,  to  procure  a  curiosity  which  centuries  of 
unsuccessful  endeavor  had  seemed  to  prove  utterly  unattainable.  Unfortunately, 
just  as  my  agents  seemed  on  the  verge  of  success,  they  were  doomed  to  disap- 
pointment. A  white  elephant  purchased  by  them  in  Siam  many  months  before 
Toung  Taloung  was  obtained,  was  poisoned  on  the  eve  of  its  departure  by  its 
attendant  priests  rather  than  that  it  should  fall  into  the  hands  of  profane  Chris- 
tians. Finally,  however,  after  three  years  of  patient  persistence,  and  the 
exercise,  on  the  part  of  half  a  score  of  our  shrewdest  agents,  of  wonderful  tact, 
diplomacy,  and  untiring  energy,  often  at  the  peril  of  their  lives,  and  the  outlay 
of  a  quarter  of  a  million  dollars,  our  efforts  were  crowned  with  victory.  We 
now  possessed  and  regularly  exhibited  the  first  arid  only  animal  of  the  kind  that 
ever  had  been  seen  or  that  probably  ever  will  be  seen  in  a  Christian  land.  So 
enormous  were  the  dificulties  which  had  to  be  conquered  in  order  to  get  this  only 
genuine  White  Elephant  out  of  Burmah,  that  I  am  satisfied  no  other  successful 
attempt  to  export  one  will  ever  again  be  made. 

The  Royal  Sacred  White  Elephant,  Toung  Taloung,  was  purchased  at  Man- 
delay,  in  Burmah  ;  and  having  been  brought  away  under  the  royal  warrant  of 
King  Theebaw,  was  shipped  from  Rangoon,  in  British  Burmah,  in  the  steamship 
Tenasserim,  on  December  8,  1883.  After  passing  through  the  Suez  Canal,  and 
touching  at  Malta,  it  arrived  safely  at  Liverpool,  England,  on  January  14,  1884. 
Thence  it  was  taken  to  London,  where  it  was  exhibited  for  several  weeks  at  the 
Royal  Zoological  Gardens,  Regent's  Park,  receiving  the  indorsement  of  many 
eminent  scientists,  prominent  among  whom  was  Professor  W.  H.  Flower,  Presi- 
dent of  the  London  Zoological  Society  and  Curator  of  the  Royal  College  of 
Surgeons.  On  March  13,  1884,  it  was  shipped  in  the  steamer  Lydian  Monarch 
for  New  York,  and  at  that  city  it  arrived  on  the  28th  of  the  same  month.  On 
the  31st  a  special  private  exhibition  of  it  was  given  to  several  hundred  natural- 
ists, scientists,  Eastern  travelers,  scholars,  leading  physicians  and  clergymen, 
editors  of  New  York  and  other  papers,  and  other  persons,  whose  closest  scrutiny 
I  invited,  but  who  none  of  them  doubted  that  the  animal  was  what  ho  was 
described  to  be,  namely,  a  genuine  white  elephant  from  Burmah.  Many  cer- 
tificates of  his  genuineness,  now  in  our  possession,  were  given  by  such  eminent 
authorities  as  Colonel  Daniel  B.  Sickles,  late  Minister  to  Siam  ;  Colonel  Thomas 
W.  Knox,  the  only  American  to  whom  the  King  of  Siam  has  ever  presented  the 
Order  of  the  White  Elephant;  Mr.  Edward  Greey,  author  of  "The  Golden 
Lotus ; "  Mr.  David  Ker,  Siamese  correspondent  of  the  New  York  Times  ; 
Frank  Vincent,  Jr.,  author  of  "  The  Land  of  the  White  Elephant,"  and  many 

As  might  have  been  anticipated,  as  a  consequence  of  the  exhibition  of  so 
unique  a  curiosity,  not  to  speak  of  the  other  novelties,  the  tour  of  the  "  Greatest 
Show  on  Earth,"  during  the  season  of  1884,  was  quite  as  successful  as  any  pre- 
vious one.  The  Show  visited  the  principal  cities  of  the  United  States  as  far  east 
as  Lewiston,  Me. ,  and  as  far  west  as  Kansas  City  and  Omaha. 

It  is  worthy  of  special  remark  that  with  regard  to  the  genuinenes  of  the 
Sacred  White  Elephant,  which  has  been  the  subject  of  so  much  discussion,  every 
c'aim  made  in  behalf  of  Toung  Taloung  has  been  substantiated  by  subsequent 
events  The  Siamese  Weekly  Advertiser,  a  paper  printed  partly  in  English  and 
partly  in  Siamese,  and  published  at  Bangkok,  the  Siamese  capital-where  the 
King  and  his  Court  reside-in  its  issue  of  March  7th,  1885,  prints  the  following 
editorial  : 


340  THK    WHITE    ELEPHANT. 

WHITE  ELEPHANT.— It  is  stated  that  a  White  Elephant  has  been  obtained  at  Pratabaung 
and  will  be  sent  to  Bangkok  as  speedily  as  p-ssible.  There  will  doubtless  be  the  usual 
pompous  demonstrations  in  connection  with  bringing  it  to  Bangkok,  conferring  on  it  a  title 
and  giving  it  a  home  in  the  vi'-inity  of  the  p  tlaee.  Foreigners  naturally  are  surprised  that 
such  eminent  honors  should  be  conferred  upon  an  animnl,  by  no  mean*  wkite,  though  per- 
haps a  shade  or  two  lighter  than  the  ordinary  elephant  in  some  parts  of  the  body. 

The  same  paper,  in  its  issue  of  April  18th,  1885,  speaks  as  follows  of  the  pre- 
sentation of  the  elephant  above  referred  to  : 

On  the  3d  instant.  His  Royal  Highness  Somdetch  Chowfah  Mahamalah  Bamrahp  Parapako 
conducted  a  male  elephant  into  tie  Palace  for  presentation  to  His  Majesty  the  King  of 
Siam.  His  Majesty  graciously  accepted  the  animal  and  presented  a  sum  of  money  and  sun- 
dry articles  of  clothing  to  be  given  to  Tepan.  the  mother,  and  her  son.  Ayaungtoh  Karens, 
the  owners  of  the  elephant.  The  Siamese  officials  who  brought  the  elephant  to  Bangkok 
were  honored  with  an  audience  of  His  Majesty  and  were  the  recipients  of  suitable  presents 
also. 

Certainly  the  King  of  Siam  ought  to  be  accepted  as  good  authority  on  the 
subject  of  white  elephants,  and  here  we  have  an  account  of  his  receiving  with 
highest  honors  and  rewards  a  "  White  Elephant,"  which  in  sacred  attributes 
and  required  peculiarities  of  marking  would  have  no  comparison  with  ours. 
And  this  is  supplemented  by  more  recent  proof  from  Burmah,  which  in  the 
Autumn  of  1885  was  conquered  by  Great  Britain.  The  correspondent  of  the 
London  Daily  Standard,  who  entered  Mandelay,  the  Capital,  with  General 
Prendergast's  army,  says : 

I  saw  King  Theebaw's  Sacred  White  Elephant  close  by  in  a  magnificent  palace  of  his  own. 
The  only  white  about  him  is  two  small  dirty  spots,  almost  imperceptible. 

The  Manchester  (Eng.)  Mail  says  : 

Barnnm's  Sacred  White  Elephant,  exhibited  in  London  last  year,  appears  to  have  been 
whiter  than  King  Theebaw's. 

King  Theebaw's  "White  Elephant  died  soon  after  his  royal  master's  over- 
throw, aud  the  New  York  Commercial  Advertiser,  commenting  on  the  fact, 
says : 

Mr.  Barnum's  White  Elephant  was,  after  all,  whiter  than  him  of  Mandelay. 

The  tour  of  the  Great  Show  during  the  summer  of  1884  was  marked  by  an  inci- 
dent which  is  worthy  of  note  heft.  The  authorities  of  a  thriving  New  England 
town,  at  which  we  were  advertised  to  appear,  demanded  an  exceptionally  exor- 
bitant sum  as  a  license  fee.  Though  our  advance  agent  demurred  to  the  impo- 
sition, the  authorities,  thinking  no  doubt  that  we  would  submit  to  it  rather  than 
pass  by  a  town  where  the  receipts  for  a  day  had  averaged  $10,000,  were  immov- 
able. They  reckoned  without  their  host,  however.  We  at  once  changed  our 
plans,  cancelled  the  date  for  their  town,  and  announced  instead  that  we  would 
give  the  intended  exhibition  at  a  smaller  town  twelve  miles  off.'  The  merchants, 
hotel-keepers  and  other  business  men  of  the  larger  town  offered  us  four  times 
the  amount  of  the  license-fee  demanded  if  we  would  adhere  to  our  original  pur- 
pose and  exhibit  there.  We,  however,  were  immovable  in  our  turn,  and 
declined  to  change  our  plans  a  second  time.  On  the  day  of  the  exhibition  we 
ran  a  large  number  of  excursion  trains  to  the  smaller  town  ;  the  other  town 
was  nearly  deserted  ;  and  the  day's  receipts  for  the  exhibition  were  not  $10,000, 
but  $12,760. 

Another  incident,  of  a  widely  different  character,  by  which  the  year  1884 
was  marked  as  a  bright  spot  in  my  calendar,  was  the  opening  of  the  Natural 
History  Museum  of  Tuft's  College,  near  Boston,  of  which  admirable  educa- 
tional institution  I  was  a  trustee  at  its  foundation.  The  want  of  a  natural 


THE    WHITE    ELEPHANT.  341 

history  museum  had  long  been  felt,  and  some  time  ago  my  friend,  President  E. 
H.  Capen,  made  an  appeal  to  me  to  supply  the  need.  To  this  appeal  I  responded  ; 
and  the  outcome  has  been  the  erection  of  a  large  and  handsome  stone  structure, 
partially  furnished  with  a  fine  collection  of  natural  history  specimens  and 
other  curiosities  interesting  and  useful  to  students.  The  building  was  completed 
in  the  spring  of  1884,  and  it  was  formally  inaugurated  at  the  Commencement 
exercises  of  the  college,  held  on  the  10th  of  June  in  the  same  year.  The  name 
of  the  founder  had  been  kept  a  secret,  but  it  was  then  publicly  announced  by 
President  Capen  in  the  course  of  his  address. 

The  event  was  described  by  the  Christian  Leader  of  June  26th  as  follows: 

There  had  been  great  curiosity  in  regard  to  the  donor  whose  great  heart  had  added  to 
the  group  of  buildings  on  College  Hill  the  elegant  structure  in  stone,  to  be  known  as  the 
Natural  History  Museum.  When,  as  the  tone  of  the  President's  address  eliminated  one 
after  another  till  it  was  clear  that  PHINEAS  TAYLOR  BAHJTUM  was  the  man,  the  applause 
became  a  shout,  and  for  what  seemed  many  minutes  the  throng  testified  their  gratitude  for 
the  magnificent  gift— of  a  character  BO  exactly  accordant  with  the  spirit  of  the  donor— in 
every  articulate  and  muscular  form  In  which  an  enthusiastic  people  know  how  to  manifest 
their  joy.  It  will  hereafter  be  our  great  pleasure  to  put  Mr.  Barnum  into  the  category  of 
Tufts,  Packard,  Walker  and  the  Goddards.  It  was  the  feature  of  the  day,  aud  it  made  the 
day  most  memorable  in  the  history  of  Tuft'a  College. 

President  Capen's  address  on  the  occasion  was  as  follows: 

LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  :  I  had  hoped  to  have  the  supreme  felicity  of  introducing  to 
you  here  and  now  the  founder  of  the  Natural  History  Museum.  He  made  some  weeks  ngo 
an  engagement  to  he  present,  but  within  a  few  days  has  been  obliged  to  cancel  it.  There 
has  been  a  great  deal  of  cariosity  during  the  past  year  to  know  the  n«me  of  our  generous 
l-enefactor.  A  good  many  guesses  have  been  ventured,  but  very  few  of  them,  so  far  as  I 
know,  have  come  near  the  mark.  Our  friend  Is  ono  who  has  taken  a  deep  interest  in  this 
college  from  the  start.  His  name  is  on  the  original  list  of  its  trustees  with  CuarJe*  Tuft 
and  Silvauus  Packard  and  Oliver  Dean  and  Thomas  A.  Goddard.  He  begun  life  in  pov- 
erty, but  by  nn  energy  and  a  spirit  of  enterprise  almost  unequaled,  even  in  this  country, 
and  in  the  face  of  difficulties  that  would  have  appalled  most  men,  he  has  conqaere'd  pov- 
erty and  secured  for  himself  a  place  among  the  men  of  princely  fortune.  Ho  had  no  such 
educational  advantages  as  the  young  men  of  this  college  enjoy.  Even  the  lads  in  our  pri- 
mary schools  get  better  training  than  he  received.  But  by  dilligent  use  of  his  opportunities, 
by  studious  habits  and  an  active  brain  he  has  not  only  stored  his  mind  with  varied  and 
useful  knowledge,  but,  as  you  shall  presently  see,  has  become  the  master  of  a  vigorous  and 
idiomatic  style  of  English  which  would  put  many  a  college  man  to  shame.  Tnrough  all 
his  life  he  has  been  a  man  of  unbounded  public  spirit.  In  the  city  of  his  adoption  he  is,  by 
unanimous  consent,  the  foremost  citizen,  pouring  out  his  money  like  water  for  every  spe- 
cies of  public  improvement.  I  doubt  if  a  single  New  England  city  has  his  superior  in  this 
respect.  He  is  a  man  of  pure  life,  who  has  taught  temperance  by  precept  and  example  to 
young  and  old  alike.  He  is  a  man  of  positive  religious  convictions  and  deep  religious  life, 
the  friend  for  many  years  of  the  venerable  Dean  of  Tuft's  Divinity  School,  the  Itev.  Dr. 
Sawyer,  and  the  parishioner  and  life-long  friend  of  the  lamented  Chapiu.  He  has  been 
prominently  identified  with  the  Church  to  which  his  laith  has  allied  him,  and  promoted  its 
enterprises  by  generous  contributions.  In  his  business  he  has  sought  to  combine  popular 
amusement  with  popular  education.  He  has  searched  all  climate*,  from  the  frozen  polar 
regions  to  the  blazing  tropics,  regardless  of  pecuniary  cost,  that  he  might  secure  specimens 
of  the  rarest  of  living  creatures  for  exhibition.  Years  ago  he  built  up  in  the  city  of  New 
York  a  museum,  which  the  late  Professor  Henry,  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  charac- 
terized as  one  of  the  most  important  educational  institutions  in  this  country.  And  now,  in 
the  latter  end  of  his  varied  and  useful  lite,  he  has  chosen  this  college  in  which  to  create  an 
instrumentality  in  which  his  name  may  be  perpetuated,  aud  the  work  to  which  his  best 
energies  have  been  devoted  may  be  carried  forward  on  a  scientific  basis  forever.  Five 
years  ago  I  took  occasion  to  call  his  attention  to  this  subject,  and  again  some  fourteen 
months  since  I  renewed  the  suggestion.  The  response  was  almost  instantaneous.  From 
that  moment  until  now  the  work  has  been'pushed  forward  with  an  energy  that  is  electric. 
The  sum  of  $35,000  lias  been  set  apart  for  this  object,  which  is  ample  f  r  the  erection  of  the 
building,  for  partially  furnishing  it  with  specimens,  leaving  a  fund  f<>r  its  care  and  main- 
tenance. I  have  received  the  following  letter,  which  I  am  sure  you  will  be  glud  to  hear, 
am  which,  in  the  absence  of  our  friend,  I  will  venture  to  read: 


342  THE     WHITE     ELEPHANT. 

E.  n.  Capen,  D.D.,  President  Tuffs  College,  College  Hill,  Mass.:— 

Mr  DEAR  MR.  PRESIDENT— It  is  with  unfeigned  regret  that  I  find  it  impossible  to  attend 
the  Commencement  exercises  at  Tuft's,  as  promised.  Often  have  I  wished  to  be  with  you 
on  these  annual  occasions,  if  for  no  other  reason  than  to  mark  by  my  presence  the  deep 
interest  I  take  and  have  always  taken  in  an  institution  the  prosperity  of  which  I  have 
watched  with  no  small  degree  of  satisfaction  and  pride.  But  a  busy  life  ha-i  invariably 
brought  with  it  duties  which  have  deprive:!,  from  time  to  time,  the  realization  of  my  desire 
to  visit  College  Hill  in  Jane.  Planning  with  more  than  usual  foresight  (as  I  hnd  imagined) 
to  be  with  you  this  year,  and  believing  that  the  time  had  come  wh"n  I  could  in  person 
extend  my  congratulations  to  the  faculty  and  the  students,  I  find  I  mu«t  forego  even  this 
visit.  But  if  absent  in  the  flesh,  I  am  with  you  in  spirit,  and  my  thoughts  will  wander  to  you 
in  your  rejoicings  of  commencement  on  the  18th  instant.  Deprived  in  my  own  youth  of 
rare  educational  advantage?,  I  have  learned  to  appreciate  their  worth  and  to  take  solid 
delight  in  every  evidence  of  greater  enlightenment  and  progress.  I  nev^r  see  an  urchin 
plodding  his  way  unwillingly  to  school  but  I  contrast  the  meagre  facilities  of  sixty  years 
ago  with  the  present  wealth  of  instrumentalities  within  the  reach  of  every  American  boy 
and  girl.  And  so,  when  I  hear  tlie  common  pchool-bell  rii  g,  I  bless  the  day  which  no 
longer  sees  my  valid  reason  tor  ignorance  in  this  country.  I  have  always  declared  that  I 
took  more  pleasure  in  paying  my  school-taxes  than  any  other  ;  for  education  often  tends  to 
lessen  vice  und  crime,  as  well  as  to  secure  to  its  recipients  reputation,  honor  and  success. 

I  may  be  pardoned,  Mr.  President,  if  on  this  occasion  I  assert  that  my  interest  in  the 
higher  education  of  the  day  has  ever  been  constant  and  profound.  Had  my  earlier  advan- 
tages been  greater  I  might  have  achieved  more;  but  looking  back  on  a  long  an<l  eventful 
career,  I  confess,  in  no  boasting  vein,  that  I  have  conscientiously  labored  to  elevate  and 
ennoble  public  amusements  which  p!ay  no  small  part  among  the  educational  agencies  of 
the  times.  How  successful  I  have  been  in  blending  healthful  and  moral  instruction  with 
recreation  it  is  not  for  me  to  state,  but  the  satisfaction  experienced  in  my  life-work  has 
been  in  itself  a  reward  altogether  apart  from  and  superior  to  any  golden  harvest  I  may 
have  reaped.  Not  that  I  am  insensible  to  the  latter,  fir  it  is  because  of  it  that  I  am  able, 
under  the  provi  fence  of  a  Good  F  ther,  who  has  blessed  me  all  my  life,  to  do  somewhat 
for  Tufts  in  the  foundation  of  the  Barnnm  Museum  of  Natural  History. 

lam  happy  in  the  thought  that  this  Museum  will  be  another  factor  in  the  work  of  the 
college,  helping  it  on  in  its  high  career  of  usefulness.  I  have  for  many  years  past  decided  to 
do  something  for  an  institution  the  growing  exi-ellence  and  thoroughness  of  which  must  com- 
mend it  to  the  lovers  of  knowledge  everywhere.  And  now  that  the  decision  ha*  been 
made,  and  the  Museum  Building  erected,  I  hope  the  college  may  possess  for  many  decades 
to  come,  facilities  sufficient  to  inspire  its  students  to  investigations  in  a  branch  of  science 
which  so  wonderfully  reveals  in  varied  form  the  infinite  wisdom  and  power  of  the  Creator. 

But  I  am  afraid  this  letter  exceeds  all  bounds,  und  should  it  be  read  on  Commencement 
Day  it  will  be  considered  irksome.  And  yet  I  cannot  close  witho  t  assuring  you.  Mr. 
President,  the  officers,  teachers,  patrons  and  students  of  the  collige,  of  my  strung  faith  in 
the  brilliant  future  of  Tuft's.  I  be.ieve,  irom  what  I  know  of  the  sacrificing  spirit  and 
intellectual  standing  of  its  facul  y,  that  the  possibilities  within  i's  reach  wiil  be  attained, 
and  that  it  will  become  an  educational  centre  fostered  and  nourished  not  only  by  men  of 
brains,  but  also  by  men  of  fortune.  It  augurs  well  for  tue  future  of  any  cause  when  peo- 
ple of  means  are  ready  to  give  generously  in  its  behalf.  The  history  of  most  denomina- 
tions to-day  reveals  the  fact  that  there  is  more  giving  than  formerly,  and  with  it  corres- 
ponding prosperity.  Whilst  feeding  the  Churches,  let  us  not  neglect  to  foster  the  colleges, 
but  endeavor  to  give  them  such  prestige  and  position  as  shall  enable  them  to  exercise  the 
most  salutary  influence  and  do  the  very  best  work.  Hoping  that  others  may  do  much  more 
than  I  have,  and  that  all  will  feel  a  pleasure  in  contributing  according  to  their  means,  I  am, 
my  dear  Mr.  President,  .Respectfully  yours,  P.  T.  BARNUM. 

After  reading  the  Jetter,  President  Capen  said:  "  I  give  you  the  health  of  the 
Pounder  of  the  Barnum  Museum  of  Natural  History.  May  his  life  be  prolonged. 
May  he  have  prosperity  and  success.  May  his  declining  days  be  crowned  by 
domestic  happiness  and  inward  peace." 

The  audience  arose  and  greeted  the  sentiment  with  heart  and  voice.  It  was 
an  ovation. 

When  General  Grant  became  financially  embarrassed  in  1884  he  was  specially- 
anxious  to  secure  Mr.  W.  H.  Vanderbflt  in  the  sum  of  $150,000,  loaned  to  him 
under  peculiar  circumstances— the  noble-hearted  General  and  his.wife  made  over 
to  him  all  their  personal  property,  including  the  valuable  trophies  and  mementos 
presented  to  him  not  only  in  America  but  by  monarchs,  princes  and  other 
admirers  during  his  celebrated  trip  around  the  world. 

Recognizing  the  fact  that  people  everywhere  would  feel  interested  in  seeing 
these  trophies,  and  that  I  could  by  exhibiting  them  in  a  most  elegant  and  suit- 


THE    WHITE    ELEPHANT.  34'} 

able  manner  throughout  the  civilized  world  gratify  millions  of  persons  of  taste 
and  appreciation,  while  I  could  afford  to  compensate  General  Grant  so  liberally 
for  the  privilege  as  to  assure  him  a  fine  income,  I  wrote  to  him  the  following 
letter  and  sent  it  by  special  messenger : 

NEW  YORK,  January  12,  1885. 
To  General  U.  S.  Grant,  twice  Pi-esident  of  the  United  Slates,  etc.: 

H(ft»<>RED  SIR  :  The  whole  world  honors  and  respects  you.  All  are  anxious  that  yon 
should  live  happy  and  free  from  care.  While  they  admire  your  manliness  in  declining  the 
large  »um  recently  tender**!  yuu  by  friends,  they  still  desire  to  see  you  achieve  financial 
independence  in  itn  honorable  manner.  Of  the  unique  and  valuable  trophies  with  which 
you  have  been  honored,  we  all  have  read,  and  ull  have  a  laudable  desire  to  see  these  evi- 
dences of  love  and  respect  bestowed  upon  you  by  monarchs,  princes  and  people  through- 
out the  globe.  While  you  would  confer  a  great  mid  enduring  favor  on  your  l'ell<>w-men  and 
women  by  permitting  them  to  see  these  trophies  you  could  also  remove  existing  embar- 
rassments in  a  most  satisfactory  and  honorable  manner.  I  will  give  you  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars  cash,  besides  a  proportion  of  the  profits,  if  I  may  be  permitted  to  exhibit 
these  relics  to  a  grateful  and  appreciative  public,  and  I  will  give  satisfactory  bonds  of  half 
a  million  dollars  lor  their  safe-keeping  and  return. 

These  precious  trophies  of  which  all  your  friends  are  so  proud,  would  be  placed  before  the 
eyes  of  your  millions  of  admirers  in  a  manner  and  style  at  once  pleasing  to  yourself  and 
satisfactory  to  the  best  e'ernents  of  the  entire  community.  Remembering  thnt  the  memen- 
toes of  Washington,  Wellington,  Nnpoleon,  Frederick  (he  Great  and  many  other  dis- 
tingui-'hed  men  have  given  immense  pleasure  to  millions  who  have  been  permitted  to  see 
them.  I  trust  you  will  in  the  honorable  manner  proponed,  gratify  the  public  and  thus  incul- 
c  ite  the  lesson  of  honesty,  perseverence  and  true  patriotism  so  admirably  illustrated  in 
your  career. 

I  hare  the  honor  to  be  truly  your  friend  and  admirer,  P.  T.  BARNUM. 

I  called  at  General  Grant's  residence  soon  afterwards,  and  was  politely  received 
by  him,  his  wife,  and  son,  Colonel  Frederick  Grant. 

I  ?aid  to  the  General,  after  our  greeting.  "  General,  since  your  journey  around 
the  world  you  are  the  best-known  man  on  the  globe." 

"No,  sir,"  replied  the  General,  "your. name  is  familiar  to  multitudes  who 
never  heard  of  me.  Wherever  I  went,  amorg  the  most  distant  nations,  the  fact 
that  I  was  an  American  led  to  constant  inquiries  whether  I  knew  Barnum." 

Proceeding  to  the  business  on  which  I  had  called,  the  General  informed  me 
that  the  trophies  were  no  longer  under  his  control,  as  Mr.  Vanderbilt,  after 
refusing  to  take  them,  out  of  respect  to  the  General,  had  finally  accepted  them 
on  condition  that  after  General  Grant's  decease  they  should  be  lodged  in  some 
safe  public  place  in  Washington,  where  all  could  see  them. 

"  After  all,  Mr.  Barnum,''  said  General  Grant,  "under  the  present  arrange- 
ments, everybody  who  visits  Washington  can  see  them." 

"Yes,  General,"  I  replied,  "but  millions  of  persons  who  will  never  visit 
Washington  will  regret  that  I  had  never  brought  these  historical  relics  where 
they  would  see  them." 

I  shall  always  believe,  regardless  of  any  profit  (or  loss)  which  might  have_ 
accrued  to  me,  that  my  plan  was  one  creditable  to  all  concerned,  and  that  it  is 
to  be  regretted  that  it  was  not  carried  out. 

I  was  reminded  of  General  Grant's  assurance  of  my  name  being  known  to  the 
ends  of  the  earth,  when  a  few  weeks  later  I  received  a  letter  addres'sed  to  "Mr. 
Barnum,  America,"  and  posted  in  Noulmein,  British  Burmah,  on  January  15  h. 
It  had  been  stamped  seven  times  on  its  face  and  ba^k,  and  bore  the  marks  of  the 
Post  Office  of  Bombay,  Brandisi,%ie  "Sea  Post  Office,"  and  the  Post  Office  in 
New  York,  whence  it  was  transmitted  to  Bridgeport.  The  envelope  contained 
two  letters  in  the  Burmese  language,  to  the  attendants  on  the  White  Elephant. 
The  Daily  Standard  remarked  : 

The  lact  that  the  address  was  simply  "Mr.  Barnum,  America."  goe«  to  show  that  our 
fellow-townsman  ii  the  Mr.  Barnum,  not  only  of  the  United  States,  or  North  America,  but 
of  the  world. 


CHAPTER    LIV. 

ALICE. 

• 

Our  Great  Barnum-London  Show  opened  its  season  at  Madison  Square  Garden, 
New  York  City,  Monday,  March  16th,  18&5,  and  closed  at  Newburg,  N.  Y.,  Sat- 
urday, October  24th,  whence  it  was  shipped  directly  to  Winter  Headquarters, 
Bridgeport,  Conn.  In  the  course  of  192  days,  exclusive  of  Sundays,  it  traveled 
8,471  miles  and  exhibited  in  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  Connecticut, 
Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Maine,  New  Brunswick,  New  Hampshire,  Ver- 
mont, and  the  Provinces  of  Quebec  and  Ontario,  Canada.  The  net  profits  were 
larger  than  those  of  the  previous  year. 

The  first  event  of  note  during  the  season — and  a  most  lamentable  one — 
occurred  at  Nashua,  N.  H.,  on  Saturday  afternoon,  July  18th,  when  "Albert," 
a  very  large  and  treacherous  Asiatic  elephant,  attacked  James  McCormick,  one 
of  the  keepers,  inflicting  internal  injuries,  which  resulted  in  death  the  next  day. 
For  this,  and  to  prevent  further  possible  loss  of  life,  Albert  was  sentenced  to 
death,  and  executed  in  a  ravine  in  the  suburbs  of  Keene,  N.  H.,  on  Monday, 
July  20.  After  he  had  been  chained  to  four  large  trees,  and  the  location  of  his 
heart  and  brain  marked  with  chalk,  thirty-three  members  of  the  Keene  Light 
Guard  were  marshalled  in  line  at  sixteen  paces,  and,  at  the  word  of  command, 
discharged  a  volley  into  the  huge  culprit  with  such  accuracy  of  aim  that  he  fell 
dead,  without  a  struggle.  Albert  was  worth  $10,000.  His  remains  were  pre- 
sented to  the  Smithsonian  Institute,  Washington,  D.  C. 

On  Tuesday,  Sept.  15th,  at  St.  Thomas,  Ontario,  Canada,  occurred  a  univer- 
sally announced  and  regretted  tragedy,  by  which  the  Show  suffered  a  great  and 
irreparable  loss.  At  about  9  o'clock  on  the  evening  of  that  day,  Jumbo,  the 
biggest,  noblest,  most  famous,  popular,  and  valuable  of  beasts,  was  killed. 
While  being  led  along  the  main  line  of  the  Grand  Trunk  Railway  to  his  car,  an 
unexpected  special  freight  train  rushed  upon  him.  There  was  no  time  for 
escape,  and  the  locomotive  struck  Jumbo  with  terrific  force.  The  engine  was 
badly  broken  and  derailed,  and  Jumbo's  skull  fractured  and  internal  injuries 
inflicted  by  his  huge  body  being  crushed  between  the  freight  train  and  a  train  of 
show  cars  standing  on  an  adjacent  track.  He  died  in  a  few  moments. 
The  dwarf  clown  elephant,  "  Tom  Thumb,"  had  a  leg  broken,  but  has  since 
recovered,  retaining  only  an  interesting  little  limp  as  a  souvenir  of  his  narm\v 
escape. 

The  death  of  Jumbo  was  cabled  all  over  the  world,  and,  for  the  time,  almost 
monopolized  public  attention,  both  at  home  and  abroad.  I  received  hundreds 
of  telegrams  and  letters  of  sympathy.  The  London  Pall-Mall  Gazette,  one  of 
the  leading  English  newspapers,  referred  editorially  to  the  event  as  follows: 

Mr.  Bnrnnm  has.  of  course,  been  interviewed  resecting  the  death  of  Jumbo,  and  tne 
great  showman,  with  that  peculiar  repose  in  faith  which  is  one  of  his  strongest  character- 
istics, keeps  f>n  believing  th;it  Jumbo's  death  may  prove  a  trump  card  yet.  "  The  loss  is 
tremendous, "nay*  Mr  Ha'num,  "but- such  :i  trifle  never  disturbs  my  nerves.  Have  I  not 
lost  a  nvllion  dollars  by  fires.  :md  half  as  much  by  other  financial  misfortunes?  but  long  aijo 
I  learned  that  to  those  who  metn  riant  and  try  to  do  rizht,  there  are  no  such  things  as  real 
misfortunes.  On  the  other  hand,  to  such  persons,  all  apparent  evils  are  blessings  in 
dl«zuise." 

344 


ALICE.  345 

My  first  thought  was  of  the  many  thousands  who  were  counting  on  seeing  the 
giant  beast,  the  largest  living  creature  in  the  world. 

Fortunately,  in  the  case  of  Jumbo,  science  achieved  a  substantial  victory  over 
death.  Professor  Henry  A.  Ward,  the  distinguished  head  of  Ward's  Natural 
Science  Establishment  at  Rochester,  N.  Y..  was  for  many  months  engaged  in  the 
labor  of  preserving  Jumbo's  form,  and  also  preparing  his  skeleton  for  exhibition. 
This  great  work  has  been  successfully  concluded,  and  the  public  can  now  look 
upon  Jumbo  as  majestic  and  natural  as  life,  while  beside  him  stands  the 
prodigious  framework  of  massive  bones  which  sustained  the  vast  weight  of  his 
flesh. 

So  many  letters  have  been  received  by  me  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  asking 
the  exact  size  of  the  lamented  Jumbo,  that  I  am  impelled  to  print  the  measure- 
ments made  by  Professor  H.  A.  Ward. 

JUMBO'S  SIZE. 

Neck— Smallest  circumference 11  feet,  6  inches. 

Body — Circumference  at  shoulders 16 

Circumference  at  middle 18 

Circumference  at  hind  legs 17 

Forelegs — Circumference  of  leg  3     feet  above  sole  of  foot        3          10 

5^        "  "  "       ..  5  7 

Hind  legs—  "2  "  "  "      ..     3 

"4  "  "  "       ..  4 

Length  of  tail 4 

Length  in  all 14 

Height  to  shoulder 12 

Weight _ 7  tons. 

Soon  after  Jumbo's  death  I  succeeded  in  purchasing  from  the  Directors  of  the 
Zoological  Society's  Garden,  London,  the  great  African  Elephant  "  ALICE,"  for 
sixteen  years  the  companion  and  so-called  "  wife  "  of  the  great  Jumbo.  Alice', 
it  will  be  remembered,  was  so  sorrowfully  excited  when  my  agent  attempted  to 
remove  Jumbo,  February,  1882,  that  her  groans  and  trumpetings  frightened  the 
wild  beasts  in  the  great  "  Zoo  "  into  such  bowlings  and  roarings  as  were  heard  a 
mile  away.  When  Jumbo  was  killed  the  English  newspapers  called  Alice 
"  Jumbo's  widow,"  and  several  of  the  illustrated  weeklies  gave  pictures  of  her 
wearing  her  "widow's  cap." 

Alice  joined  the  Greatest  Show  on  Earth  in  the  early  days  of  her  widowhood, 
and  was  exhibited  side  by  side  with  the  skeleton  and  stuffed  hide  of  Jumbo. 
This  pathetic  juxtaposition  did  not  apparently  affect  her  spirits.  The  dead 
Jumbo  and  the  living  Alice  were  among  the  most  interesting  features  of  the 
show  season  of  1886,  both  at  the  Madison  Square  Garden,  from  April  1st  to 
April  24th,  and  in  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  District  of  Columbia, 
Virginia.  Ohio,  Kentucky,  Indiana,  Tennessee,  Michigan,  Illinois,  Iowa,  Wis- 
consin, Minnesota,  Nebraska,  Missouri,  Kansas,  Georgia,  South  Carolina  and 
North  Carolina.  The  show,  as  usual,  was  larger  and  better  than  ever  before, 
and  its  financial  success  proportionate.  This  was  the  first  visit  of  the  great  show 
to  the  Southern  States,  where  it  was  received  with  the  greatest  enthusiasm.  It 
visited,  during  its  season  of  1886,  21  States  and  144  cities,  traveled  10,447  miles, 
and  gave  344  performances.  Its  longest  single  run  was  from  Springfield,  Mo. ,  to 
Memphis,  Tenn.,  285  miles. 

In  pursuance  of  my  custom  of  visiting  my  Great  Show  at  such  places  as  are 
railroad  centers,  where  I  know  thousands  will  come  in  by  excursion  trains.  I 


346  ALICE. 

last  year  met  the  show  at  Erie,  Pa.  I  did  not  make  myself  known  (for  I  like  to 
mingle  with  the  crowd  incognito,  and  get  information  and  pleasure  listening  to 
the  various  remarks,  and  especially  criticisms,  about  the  different  details  of  the 
show)  but  seated  myself  among  the  audience,  surrounded  by  the  country  people. 
It  was  a  great  satisfaction  to  witness  their  delight  at  the  various  exhibitions 
brought  into  the  arena.  One  old  farmer  and  his  wife,  who  sat  on  the  seat  in 
front  of  me,  attracted  my  attention. 

"  '  I  declare,  Sally,'  says  the  man,  'I  ain't  seen  a  circus  since  I  was  twenty- 
one.  I  neyer  did  think  it  possible  to  do  such  wonderful  things  as  I  have  seen 
here  to-day.' 

"  '  I  have  never,'  replied  Sally,  '  seen  a  circus  since  I  was  a  gal.  But  I  was 
determined  to  see  Barnum's,  I  had  heard  so  much  about  it.  It  certainly  beats 
all  I  had  ever  dreamt  of.' 

"  'After  all,'  said  the  husband,  '  there  is  one  thing  I  would  give  more  to  §ee 
than  the  whole  show,  and  that  is  Barnum  himself.' 

, "'  Well,  perhaps  you  may  see  him,'  replied  the  wife,  '  they  say  he  sometimes 
goes  with  his  show.' 
"  '  I  hope  I  will  get  a  look  at  him,'  said  the  husband. 

After  a  while,  a  young  rider  about  three-and-twenty  years  of  age,  a  perfect 
athlete  and  equestrian,  came  into  the  ring,  riding  four  bare-backed  horses.  They 
were  very  spirited  animals,  aud  they  went  through  their  various  evolutions 
with  such  perfection  and  celerity  as  to  bring  repeated  thunders  of  applause. 
Presently  the  youthful  rider  turned  a  somersault,  alighted  upon  his  head,  and  in 
that  position,  with  his  heels  in  the  air,  rode  several  times  around  the  ring.  All 
were  wondering  at  this  extraordinary  feat,  when  my  old  farmer  friend  jumped 
to  his  feet,  wild  with  excitement,  swung  his  hat  in  the  air  and  exclaimed,  '  I'll 
bet  five  dollars  that's  Barnum.  There  ain't  another  man  in  America  who  can 
do  that  but  Barnum.'  I  did"  not  disabuse  his  mind.  He  felt  that  he  had  gotten 
his  money's  worth,  and  I  was  satisfied. 

During  the  six  weeks  of  the  exhibition  in  New  York.  I  was  a  constant  visitor 
in  the  afternoons  and  an  occasional  one  in  the  evenings,  at  which  latter  times 
I  renewed  many  old  acquaintanceships.  When  it  was  not  possible  to  attend 
both,  I  always  gave  the  preference  to  the  afternoon^performances,  so  as  to  meet 
as  many  as  possible  of  my  little  friends  and  patrons,  to  whose  amusement  and 
happiness  it  is  such  a  pleasure  to  minister.  To  me  there  is  no  picture  so  beauti- 
ful as  ten  thousand  smiling,  bright-eyed,  happy  children;  no  music  so  sweet  as 
their  clear  ringing  laughter.  That  I  have  had  power,  year  after  year,  by  pro- 
viding innocent  amusement  for  the  little  ones,  to  create  such  pictures,  to  evoke 
such  music,  is  my  proudest  and  happiest  reflection.  Often,  as  I  walked  through 
the  Madison  Square  Garden,  I  was  the  recipient  of  spontaneous  bursts  of  ap- 
plause and  clapping  of  little  hands  from  the  multitude  of  children  present. 
These  incidents  are  among  the  pleasantest  of  my  life  and  never  to  be  forgotten. 
The  show  left  the  city  for  its  annual  traveling  season  and  traveled  through 
the  following  states,  first  going  to  Brooklyn,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Dela- 
ware, New  York,  Connecticut,  Massachusetts,  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Vermont, 
Rhode  Island,  back  to  New  York  State,  through  Canada,  then  into  New  York 
State  again,  Pennsylvania,  and  lastly  New  Jersey,  closing  the  season  in  Hoboken, 
on  October  22,  1887.  It  was  a  most  satisfactory  season  financially,  although  not 
quite  as  extensive  as  formerly.  In  its  travels  the  show  visited  175  cities,  covering 
over  10,500  miles  of  territory  and  meeting  with  but  few  accidents,  and  none  of 


ALICE.  347 

auy  consequence.  From  Hoboken  all  the  animals  and  material  were  safely 
transported  to  the  winter  quarters  at  Bridgeport. 

At  the  close  of  the  season,  Messrs.  Hutchinson,  Cole  and  Cooper,  feeling  a 
desire  for  more  leisurely  lives  than  the  terms  of  our  partnership  permitted,  and 
being  possessed  of  fortunes  large  enough  to  gratify  all  reasonable  tastes,  with- 
drew from  the  firm,  with  my  free  consent,  and  the  show  property  was  housed 
for  the  winter  with  myself  and  Mr.  James  A.  Bailey  as  equal  partners  and  pro 
prietors,  and  under  the  name  of  the  Barnum  &  Bailey  Show. 

The  sad  news  of  Jenny  Lind's  death  in  London  November  2,  1887,  news 
which  flashed  across  the  world  awakening  universal  sorrow  and  regret,  appealed 
peculiarly  to  me.  It  was  not  only  that  the  dead  songstress  was  associated  with 
one  of  the  most  successful  business  enterprises  of  my  life,  and  one  of  which  I 
am  particularly  pleased,  but  from  the  time  of  our  first  association  I  conceived 
for  the  woman  and  the  artist  a  warm  regard  which  was  not  impaired  by  any 
subsequent  events.  Her  impulses  were  always  good,  and  if  the  somewhat 
abrupt  termination  of  her  engagement  with  me  was  not  in  keeping  with  the 
fine  sense  of  justice  which  ordinarily  regulated  her  actions,  the  blame  must  rest 
on  her  interested  advisers,  not  on  Jenny  Lind. 

In  the  years  that  have  passed  since  then  we  have  each  held  ourselves  ready  to 
do  the  other  any  friendly  service  possible,  and  have  taken  a  mutual  pleasure 
in  recalling  the  many  humorous  and  pathetic  incidents  of  our  concert  season. 
I  remember  the  glorious  voice  of  the  Nightingale,  not  alone  in  the  raptures  of 
unrivalled  singing,  but  low  and  soft,  with  pitying  tender  words,  as  she  sought 
to  comfort  one  in  trouble;  or  ringing  out  in  the  hearty  laughter  of  blithe  and 
vigorous  young  womanhood.  From  my  very  heart  came  the  words  of  sympa- 
thy I  sent  to  her  devoted  husband,  and  from  his,  I  am  sure,  came  the  message 
he  cabled  from  Malvern,  England,  where  he  had  just  laid  the  body  of  his 
worshipped  wife  : 

P.  T.  BARNUM,  New  York  : 

Fully  appreciate  your  condolences,  coming  from  one  who  well  knew  my 
beloved  wife,  and  was  always  remembered  by  her  with  sincere  regard. 

OTTO  QOLDSCHMIDT. 

So  dies  away  the  last  echo  of  the  most  glorious  voice  the  world  has  ever 
heard. 


CHAPTER    LV. 

THE   CHURCH   AND    CIRCUS. 

YEARS  ago  no  two  institutions  were  more  actively  antagonistic  than  the 
Church  and  Circus.  The  former  waged  fierce  and  uncompromising  war  against 
the  latter,  the  Methodist  Church  going  so  far  as  to  make  it  a  part  of  their  dis- 
cipline that  attendance  at  a  circus  entailed  forfeiture  of  membership.  That  the 
Church  should  ever  tolerate,  patronize  or  even  recognize  as  an  educator  the 
circus  was  a  possibility  that  probably  entered  into  the  dreams  of  no  man  but 
myself,  and  perhaps  no  man  but  myself  believed  it  possible  to  organize  a  circus 
which  should  respect  the  Church  and  all  pertaining  to  it. 

In  those  days  the  circus  was  very  justly  the  object  of  the  Church's  animad- 
versions. Its  spectacular  attractions  consisted  principally  of  six  to  ten  entree 
horses,  with  riders ;  two  fairly  good  equestrians,  whose  standing  feats  on  horse- 
back were  made  on  a  broad  pad  saddle;  half  a  dozen  apprentice  boys,  who  rode 
more  or  less  (and  rather  less  than  more)  and  joined  in  flip-flaps,  hand-springs 
and,  in  the  afterpiece,  " The  Tailor  of  Tamworth  "  or  "Pete  Jenkins,"  in  which 
drunken  characters  were  represented  and  broad  jokes,  suited  to  the  groundlings, 
were  given.  Its  fun  consisted  of  the  clown's  vulgar  jests,  emphasized  with  still 
more  vulgar  and  suggestive  gestures,  lest  providentially  the  point  might  be  lost. 
Educational  features  the  circus  of  that  day  had  done.  Its  employees  were 
mostly  of  the  [rowdy  element,  and  it  had  a  following  of  card-sharpers,  pick- 
pockets and  swindlers  generally,  who  were  countenanced  by  some  of  the  circus 
proprietors,  with  whom  they  shared  their  ill-gotten  gains.  Its  advent  was 
dreaded  by  all  law-abiding  people,  who  knew  that  with  it  would  inevitably 
cause  disorder,  drunkenness  and  riot.  It  will  scarcely  be  believed  that  it  was 
the  custom  of  most  of  Rich  circuses  to  engage  in  advance  the  firemen  of  the 
town  they  proposed  to  visit  to  help  to  protect  the  circus  company  against  possi- 
ble attacks  of  the  rabble,  who  were  apt  to  be  belligerently  indignant  when  too 
outrageously  victimized.  Some  circus  proprietors  paid  no  salary  to  their  ticket- 
sellers,  but  let  them  cheat  it  out  of  their  customers  by  giving  them  short  change 
in  the  rush  and  excitement  which  usually  prevailed  around  the  ticket  wagon. 

THE   MISSION  OF  THE  CIRCUS. 

Every  one  in  these  enlightened  days  concedes  that  human  nature  imperatively 
demands  amusement  and  recreation.  The  childish  mind  to  which  all  the  world 
is  yet  fresh  and  interesting  and  the  jaded,  brain  of  the  adult  call  with  equal 
insistence  for  "  something  new  and  strange."  Granted  the  necessity  of  amuse- 
ments and  the  desirability  of  their  being  morally  clean  and  healthful  and  instruc- 
tive, the  provider  of  such  entertainments  is  a  public  benefactor  and  may 
reasonably  ask  for  his  wares  the  countenance  of  the  Church. 

The  so-called  circus  of  to-day,  with,  I  regret  to  say,  some  exceptions,  is  a 
widely  different  affair  from  that  of  the  past.  When  under  proper  management 
it  is  decorous  and  orderly  in  operation  and  composed  of  features  which  appeal 
to  all  ages,  classes  and  conditions.  While  modestly  submitting  to  bear  the 
generic  title  of  circus,  a  genuine  tent  exhibition  under  thit  name  must  com- 


THE    CHURCH    AND    CIRCUS.  349 

prise  a  menagerie  and  museum,  the  accumulating  of  which  necessitated  a 
diligent  searching  of  the  whole  earth  at  an  incredible  pecuniary  outlay.  In  the 
proper  circus  of  to-day  the  athlete  demonstrates  the  perfection  of  training  of 
which  the  human  body  is  capable.  His  feats  of  strength  and  graceful  agility 
pleases  the  understanding  as  well  as  the  eye,  and  if  the  average  small  boy  does 
stand  on  his  head  and  practice  turning  "  hand-springs "  and  "flip-flaps"  with 
exasperating  persistence  for  three  weeks  running  after  going  to  the  circus  his 
physique  will  be  all  the  better  for  it.  The  juggler  shows  the  marvelous  precision 
and  nicety  of  touch  which  can  be  acquired  by  patient  practice.  In  the  real 
circus  of  to-day  the  intelligent  lover  of  horse-flesh  will  find  the  finest  specimens 
of  the  equine  race  trained  to  do  almost  anything  but  talk.  There  the  scientific 
mind  is  attracted  by  such  strange  examples  of  mechanism  as  the  talking  machine, 
an  ingenious  duplicate  of  the  structure  of  the  human  throat,  giving  forth  under 
manipulation  a  very  human,  if  not  very  sweet,  voice.  The  ethnologist  finds 
gathered  together  for  his  leisurely  inspection  representatives  of  notable  and 
peculiar  tribes,  civilized  and  savage,  from  far  distant  lands— types  which  other- 
wise he  would  never  see,  as  they  can  only  be  sought  in  their  native  countries  at 
the  risk  of  life,  and  at  an  expenditure  of  time  and  money  possible  to  very  few. 
The  menagerie  of  wild  beasts,  birds  and  reptiles — comprising  every  curious 
specimen  of  animal  life  from  the  denizens  of  the  torrid  African  jungle  to  those 
of  the  Polar  regions — form  a  study  that  will  impart  more  valuable  information 
in  two  hours  than  can  be  obtained  from  reading  books  on  zoology  in  a  year. 

MORALITY  OF  EMPLOYEES. 

The  morality  of  a  genuine  circus  troupe  compares  favorably  with  that  of  any 
equal  number  of  any  other  profession  or  trade.  Many  of  them  are  educated 
and  intelligent;  most  are  loyal  to  strong  family  affections  and  to  such  domes- 
ticity as  is  attainable  while  traveling,  For  the  rest,  they  are  obliged  to  behave 
well.  The  circus  proprietor  has  a  more  complete  jurisdiction  over  his  employees 
than  any  pastor  over  his  congregation.  Would  any  clergyman  dare  to  punish 
profanity  by  fine  and  drunkenness  by  expulsion  ?  which  is  exactly  what  the  best 
type  of  circus  proprietor  can  do  and  does.  He  has  the  whip  hand,  and  retains 
during  the  season  a  proportion  of  the  employee's  salary,  which  he  receives  at 
the  end  of  the  season  if  his  record  is  good,  not  otherwise.  Business  interests 
compel  strict  discipline,  and  who  shall  say  that  the  employee  who  is  compelled 
to  behave  well  is  not,  at  the  end  of  the  season,  somewhat  the  better  for  eight 
months  of  compulsory  sobriety,  civility  and  orderly  living  ? 

The  best  circus  of  to-day  is  not  a  fair  mark  for  the  Church's  hostility,  and 
while  the  circus  has  advanced  in  merit,  the  Church  has  no  less  grown  in  toler- 
ance. In  my  capacity  of  circus  proprietor  I  have  been  the  recipient  of  many 
flattering  and  amusing  amenities  on  the  part  of  the  Church.  As,  for  instance, 
when  on  Sunday  evening,  May  21,  1882,  I  entered  the  Church  of  the  Messiah, 
New  York  City,  Rev.  Robert  Collyer,  pastor,  and  quietly  took  a  back  seat  only 
to  find  the  keen  clear  eyes  of  the  preacher  fixed  upon  me,  and  to  hear  his  reso- 
nant voice  announce,  "I  see  P.  T.  Barnum  in  a  back  pew  of  this  church,  and  I 
invite  him  to  come  forward  and  take  a  seat  in  my  family  pew.  Mr.  Barnum 
always  gives  me  a  good  seat  in  his  circus  and  I  want  to  give  him  as  good  in  my 
church."  I  thought  the  reverened  gentleman  had  the  courage  of  his  convictions 
to  a  most  unusual  degree,  and  I  was  grateful  to  his  congregation  for  the  gravity 
with  which  they  listened  to  this  very  remarkable  "pulpit  notice  "and  made 


350  THE    CHURCH    AND    CIRCUS. 

way  for  me  as,  with  some  embarrassment,  I  took  the  prominent  seat  so  peremp- 
torily indicated. 

Again,  last  summer,  a  few  days  before  my  great  show  was  to  visit  St.  Albans, 
Vt.,  I  received  a  letter  signed  by  the  clergy  of  that  town  reminding  me  that  my 
organization  was  to  arrive  among  them  on  Sunday  morning  early,  and  asking 
that  I  would  give  orders  that  none  of  the  paraphernalia,  wagons,  etc.,  should 
be  in  transit  between  the  railroad  depot  and  the  show  grounds  during  the  hours 
of  divine  service.  I  was  punctilious  in  seeing  that  their  very  reasonable  request 
was  respected.  Being  in  St.  Albans  myself  that  Sunday,  I  received,  with  my 
company,  printed  invitations  to  attend  a  prominent  church.  I,  at  least,  went, 
and  heard  a  very  good  sermon,  and  the  preacher  did  not  take  the  occasion  to 
decry  the  calling  I  represented,  as  happened  to  Miss  Emma  Abbott  recently. 

SPEAKING  IN  CHURCH. 

I  will  not  say  whether  I  think  it  was  well  or  ill  advised  of  her  to  rise  in 
meeting  and  combat  the  ungenerous  strictures  of  the  preacher,  but  I  did  the 
same  thing  myself  (after  the  benediction  was  pronounced)  under  the  same 
provocation,  in  Lenox,  Mass. ,  fifty-one  years  ago,  and  had  a  most  attentive  and 
sympathetic  audience,  as  I  doubt  not  Miss  Abbott  did.  Many  prominent  clergy- 
men have  written  me  the  most  cordial  expressions  of  their  approbation  of  my 
circus  and  of  their  personal  pleasure  in  attending  it.  I  append  three  of  the 
most  notable  and  characteristic  : 

I  should  like,  if  I  had  time,  to  Tisit  your  gigantic  combination  once  a  week  daring  the 
whole  season,  for  there  is  so  much  to  see  that  no  one  could  do  the  matter  justice  in  less 

Yours,  HENRY  WARD  BEECHER. 

NEW  YORK,  January  15,  1878. 

MT  DEAR  BARNUM  :  It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  express  my  sincere  opinion,  that  in 
the  entertainments  which  you  have  lurnished  for  the  public,  your  patrons  have  always 
received  a  full  and  profitable  money's-worth,  and  that  they  are  fitted  not  only  to  amuse,  but 
to  instruct,  and  are  certainly  free  from  anything  that  can  be  in  the  least  objectionable  to 
any  refined  or  religious  person. 

I  remain,  truly  yours, 

E.  H.  CHAPIN. 

BROOKLYN,  January  13,  1878. 

MT  DEAR  OLD  FRIEND  :  "  The  King  never  dies."  This  old  maxim  of  royalty  seems  to 
apply  to  you  as  the  King  of  Exhibitors  and  Caterers,  not  merely  to  the  public  amusement, 
but  to  popular  instruction. 

Millions  of  -'little  folks"  may  consider  yon  their  benefactor  in  affording  them  innocent 
gratification.  I  have  several  times  taker  my  children  to  your  Museums,  Menageiies  and 
Exhibitions,  and  have  not  observed  there  anything  profane  or  impure.  I  especially  thank 
you  for  your  allegiance  (btv  h  in  your  practice  and  in  your  business)  to  the  principle  of  total 
abstinence  from  all  intoxicants. 

With  a  thousand  good  wishes,  and  with  kindest  regards  to  your  family,  I  remain, 
Yours  sincerely, 

THEO    L.  CUYLER. 

The  religious  press  has  been  no  less  kind  and  complimentary  : 
The  Examiner  and  Chronicle  said  : 

Barnum's  Great  Show  is  well  worth  everybody's  seeing.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that 
it  is  the  greatest  exhibition  of  its  kind  in  the  world. 

The  Christian  at  Work  said  : 

We  have  visited  Barnum's  Great  Novel  and  Instructive  Exhibition.  Amusement  is 
necessary  to  us  all — and  when  we  can  combine  instruction  and  amusement,  as  in  tliH  case, 
we  see  no  rtaMon  why  we  -houW  not  be  gratified  in  this  respect,  aud  our  children  us  well. 


THE    CHURCH    AND    CIRCUS.  351 

The  Methodist  said  : 

Barnum's  Greatest  Show  on  Earth,  which  we  have  visited  at  the  American  Institute  iu 
this  city,  is  entirely  worthy  of  public  patronage.  It  is  amusing,  interesting  and  instructive. 

The  Christian  Union  said  : 

The  delighted  public  has  once  more  an  opportunity  of  enjoying  that  Great  Moral  and 
Instructive  Exhibition  which  Mr.  P.  T.  Barnum  has  for  a  generation  or  two,  and  for  a  very 
moderate  money  consideration,  innocently  pleased  and  educated  amusement-loving  America. 

The  Independent  said  : 

Barnum  claims  that  his  show  is  the  Great  Moral  and  Instructive  Exhibition— and  Barnum 
tells  the  truth.  All  the  world  says  so. 

Perhaps  my  experience  has  been  exceptionally  fortunate,  but  I  am  convinced 
that  the  Church  and  my  circus,  at  least,  are  to-day  on  very  good  terms. 

A  secular  recognition  of  my  Great  Show  as  an  educator — a  recognition  of 
which  I  am  very  proud— is  contained  in  the  following  letter  : 

UNITED  STATES  NATIONAL  MUSEUM. 

UNDER  THB  DIRECTION  OP 
THE  SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION, 

WASHINGTON,  May  1, 1882. 

DEAR  MR.  BARNCM  :  Will  you  do  us  the  favor  to  allow  Mr.  Clark  Mills  to  make  a  face- 
mask  of  your  countenance  from  which  to  prepare  a  bust  for  the  National  Museum,  to  be 
placed  in  our  series  of  representations  of  men  who  have  distinguished  themselves  for  what 
they  have  done  as  promoters  of  the  natural  sciences. 

Very  truly  yours, 
P.  T.  BARNUM,  ESQ.  SPENCER  BAIRD. 

And  my  generous  foe,  Mr.  Henry  Bergh,  the  well-known  and  respected  presi- 
dent of  "  The  Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Animals  "  with  whom  I 
have  had  several  tilts,  as  recorded  in  these  pages),  said  in  a  letter  to  a  New  York 
paper  in  the  summer  of  1885,  "  I  regard  Mr.  Barnum  as  one  of  the  most  humane 
and  kind-hearted  men  living.  *  *  *  He  manages  an  exhibition  which,  in 
view  of  its  vast  magnitude  and  amazing  excellence  of  details,  has  no  equal  in 
the  world." 


CHAPTER    LVI. 

MY    FIFTH    GREAT    FIRE. 

ON  November  20,  1887,  I  was  again,  and  for  the  fifth  time,  a  heavy  loser  by 
fire.  About  ten  o'clock  on  that  night  fire  broke  out  in  the  great  animal  building 
of  the  winter  quarters  at  Bridgeport,  Conn.,  and  in  spite  of  strenuous  efforts  to 
subdue  the  flames  it  was  entirely  consumed,  and  so  rapidly  that  there  was  not 
time  to  rescue  the  animals.  Of  the  herd  of  thirty-four  elephants  thirty  escaped. 
One  lion,  Nimrod,  a  fine  specimen  and  great  favorite,  was  led  out  by  his  keeper. 
With  these  exceptions,  the  entire  menagerie  perished  in  the  flames.  An  immense 
quantity  of  properties,  canvas  tents,  poles,  seats,  harness,  etc.,  stored  in  the 
second  story  was  also  destroyed. 

Many  thrilling  incidents  of  that  night  will  long  remain  vividly  in  the  memory 
of  those  who  witnessed  them.  A  terrified  spectator,  who  did  not  realize  that 
the  released  lion  would  obey  the  restraining  hand  of  his  keeper,  tangled  in  his 
mane,  shot  at  the  beast,  which,  startled,  broke  away,  outstripped  his  pursuers 
and  entered  a  barn  some  distance  from  the  scene  of  the  conflagration.  There 
he  attacked  a  cow  and  calf,  whose  cries  brought  their  owner,  a  Mrs.  Gilligan. 
Mistaking  the  lion  in  the  dim  light  for  a  huge  dog,  she  stoutly  belabored  him 
with  a  broom-stick,  saying,  "  Shoo!  shoo!  "  The  lion  kept  on  making  a  meal  of 
the  cow  and  calf,  but  growled  such  a  vigorous  objection  to  being  interrupted 
that  the  widow  retreated  precipitately,  crying,  "  A  bear  !  a  bear! "  A  neighbor 
caught  up  his  gun  and  ran  to  her  assistance,  and,  little  recking  what  noble  game 
he  was  slaughtering,  through  the  window  of  the  barn  he  shot  the  trapped  king 
of  the  forest  dead. 

The  elephant,  "Grade,"  rushed  into  the  Sound,  where  she  was  found  next 
morning  swimming  exhaustedly.  She  died  of  cold  and  exposure  while  being 
towed  to  shore.  The  white  elephant  determinedly  committed  suicide.  Liberated 
with  the  rest  of  the  elephants,  he  rushed  back  into  the  flames.  Driven  out 
again  and  again,  each  time  he  returned  until  the  keepers  were  forced  to  abandon 
him  to  his  fate.  In  the  fiercest  of  the  flames  he  was  seen  wildly  thrashing  his 
trunk  in  the  air,  then  with  one  loud  cry  fell  and  was  seen  no  more.  The  fire 
approached  in  a  weird  and  picturesque  way  a  very  large  portrait  of  myself 
painted  on  the  end  of  the  building  overlooking  the  N.  Y.,  N.  H.  &  H.  Railroad. 
For  many  minutes  the  picture  glowed  intact  in  an  unbroken  frame  of  flame. 

As  a  strong  force  of  water  was  suddenly  turned  into  the  fire  hose,  the  great 
coils  swelled  and  writhed  and  leaped  along  the  ground,  and  many  of  the  excited 
on-lookers  fled  in  horror,  and  told  honest  stories  of  the  huge  boa  constrictors  that 
were  wandering  about  seeking  whom  they  might  devour.  At  two  o'c  lock  in  the 
morning  the  telegraphic  despatch  telling  the  dire  news  reached  my  rooms  at  the 
Murray  Hill  Hotel,  New  York,  and  was  received  by  my  wife,  who  is  authority 
for  the  following  story  : 

"I  rousfd  Mr.  Barnum,  who  turned  on  his  pillow  just  enough  to  focus  one 
eye  at  me  as  I  stood  shivering  in  the  chill  morning  air. 

'"What  is  it?'  said  he. 

352 


MY    FIFTH    Q11EA.T    FIUK.  353 

"  '  A  telegram,'  said  I. 
"  '  What  about  ?'  said  he. 
"  '  I'll  read  it  to  you,"  said  I. 

"  '  BRIDGEPORT,  Nov.  21,  1887. 

'  To  P.  T.  BARNUM,  Murray  Hill  Hotel : 

1 '  Large  animal  building  entirely  consumed.    Six  horses  in  ring  barn  burned, 
together  with  entire  menagerie  except  thirty  elephants  and  oce  lion. 

"  '  C.  R.  BROTHWELL. 

' '  I  am  very  sorry,  my  dear,'  said  he  calmly,  '  but  apparent  evils  are  often 
blessings  in  disguise.  It  is  all  right.' 

"  With  that  he  rolled  back  into  his  original  comfortable  position  and,  I  give 
you  my  word  for  it,  in  three  minutes  was  fast  asleep." 

The  loss  by  this  fire  was  $250,000.  Insurance,  only  $31,000.  Many  people 
thought  I  would  be  deterred  by  this  disaster  from  ever  collecting  another  men- 
agerie. Some  even  surmised  that  I  would  give  up  the  show  business  altogether. 
But  I  am  not  in  the  show  business  alone  to  make  money.  I  feel  it  my  mission, 
as  long  as  I  live,  to  provide  clean,  moral  and  healthful  recreation  for  the  public 
to  which  I  have  so  long  catered,  and  which  has  never  failed  to  recognize  most 
generously  my  efforts.  Mr.  Bailey  was  as  little  dismayed  as  myself.  From  all 
parts  of  the  world  dealers  in  wild  animals  and  our  own  hunters  telegraphed, 
cabled  and  wrote  what  they  had  to  offer  us.  Eleven  days  after  the  fire  I  found 
Mr.  Bailey  intently  reading  a  pile  of  telegrams  and  letters,  and  making  mem- 
oranda. To  my  inquiry  as  to  what  he  was  doing,  he  coolly  remarked,  "I  am 
ordering  a  menagerie."  "What!  all  in  one  day?"  I  ejaculated,  somewhat 
surprised.  "Certainly,"  he  replied,  "I  know  from  these  telegrams  just  where 
we  can  get  every  animal  we  want,  and  in  six  hours  we  shall  own  a  much  finer 
menagerie  than  the  one  we  have  lost. " 

Apropos  of  this  fire  it  is  a  strange  coincidence  that  four  of  the  most  famous 
elephants  the  world  ever  saw,  elephants  which  contributed  very  largely  to  the 
reputation  and  prosperity  of  my  show,  have  all  come  to  untimely  ends.  The 
baby  elephant,  a  most  amiable  and  popular  little  creature,  died  April  12,  1886, 
at  the  tender  age  of  four  years,  in  the  very  spot  where  he  was  born.  Jumbo 
was  killed  by  a  locomotive,  and  the  white  elephant  and  Alice  perished  tragically 
in  the  burning  of  the  Winter  Quarters. 

The  following  petition,  started  without  my  knowledge,  was  signed  by  the 
mayor,  three  ex- mayors,  bank  presidents  and  cashiers,  and  more  than  one  thou- 
sand of  our  principal  citizens,  including  all  our  chief  merchants  and  prominent 
business  mer,  and  I  have  not  heard  a  dissenting  voice  : 

To  MESSRS.  BARNUM  &  BAILEY  : 

Gentlemen— The  undersigned  citizens  and  business  houses  of  Bridgeport  learn 
with  regret  that  a  proposal  has  been  made  to  remove  the  Winter  Quarters  from 
this  city.  We  respectfully  request  that  such  proposal  be  not  entertained  by  you, 
but  that  the  Winter  Quarters  will  still  remain  in  this  city. 

We  should  consider  it  a  great  injury  to  our  city  to  have  you  remove,  and 
trust  that  you  will  favorably  consider  our  request  to  remain. 

Bridgeport,  Conn.,  Nov.  23,  1887. 

Nearly  every  newspaper  in  the  world  will  probably  publish  an  account  of  my 
last  fire.  The  hundreds  of  copies  already  received  from  every  part  of  the  U  nited 
States  and  Canada  express  sympathy  for  my  losses  and  admiration  for  the 


354  MY     FIFTH     G  Ft  HAT     FIRE. 

determination  on  my  part  to  "die  in  harness,"  and  hand  down  to  future  genera- 
tions "The  Greatest  Show  on  Earth,"  unimpaired  in  magnitude  and  merit.  I 
am  proud  to  say  that  the  most  powerful  and  influential  newspaper  in  the  world, 
The  London  Times,  of  November  22,  1887,  devotes  an  editorial  of  more  than  a 
column  to  a  complimentary  sketch  of  my  career,  in  which  it  recognizes  mine  as 
an  institution  of  "  definite  educational  value."  The  Times  describes  me  as  "the 
genial  showman,  favorably  known  in  both  hemispheres,"  and  among  other 
pleasant  things  also  says  : 

"  It  would  not  be  easy  to  forget  the  promptitude  and  energy  with  which  one 
disaster  after  another  was  repaired  as  soon  as  sustained,  with  which  the  loss  of 
some  central  object  of  interest  was  made  good  by  the  discovery  of  another,  and 
the  way,  in  short,  in  which  many  of  the  qualities  which  adorn  a  general  or  a 
statesman  were  displayed,  in  no  insignificant  degree,  in  an  undertaking  so  hum- 
ble as  the  conducting  of  a  show.  *  *  *  Madame  Jenny  Lind,  who  probably, 
notwithstanding  her  magnificent  voice,  owed  a  large  measure  of  her  popularity 
in  America  to  Mr.  Barnum's  management,  always  bore  testimony  to  the  absolute 
integrity  and  honor  of  his  dealings  with  her.  *  *  *  We  confess  to  a  very 
friendly  feeling  for  Mr.  Barnum,  and  trust  that  his  menagerie  will  soon  rise  from 
its  ashes,  and  that  the  catastrophe  by  which  it  has  been  dispersed  may  furnish 
the  means  of  rendering  the  successor  still  more  attractive  than  the  original." 

My  well-beloved  City  of  Bridgeport,  at  this  writing  the  second  in  the  state, 
bids  fair  soon  to  become  the  first  in  population,  as  it  has  long  been  in  enterprise. 
Important  factors  in  its  almost  unprecedented  growth  and  prosperity  are  its 
beautiful  position  on  the  shore  of  Long  Island  Sound  and  its  desirable  location 
with  respect  to  the  railroads.  On  the  direct  line  of  the  Consolidated  R.  R.  from 
New  York  to  Boston,  via  Hartford  (tapping  the  Boston  &  Albany  R.  R.  at 
Springfield,  Mass.),  also  via  New  London  &  Providence  ;  it  is  also  the  terminus 
of  the  Housatonic  and  Naugatuck  Railroads,  both  of  which  lines  pass  through 
fertile  valleys,  whose  inexhaustible  water-power  feeds  innumerable  manufac- 
tories. Eighty -two  passenger  trains  and  thirty-five  freight  trains  arrive  in  the 
Bridgeport  depot  every  twenty-four  hours,  and  three  steamboats  ply  daily 
between  New  York  and  Bridgeport,  besides  freight  steam  propellers.  There  is 
also  daily  steamboat  communication  with  Port  Jefferson,  L.  I. 

From  the  time  I  first  settled  in  Bridgeport,  forty  years  ago,  when  its  inhabi- 
tants numbered  only  six  thousand,  I  have  been,  by  public  and  private  enter- 
prises, closely  identified  with  its  growth.  For  nearly  forty  years  I  have  been 
opening  streets,  planting  trees,  filling  swamps,  making  docks,  and  erecting 
houses  and  factories  in  Bridgeport.  As  those  persons  who  own  the  houses  they 
live  in  are  generally  the  best  citizens,  since  they  feel  the  responsibilities  of 
householders  and  taxpayers,  I  sell  them  lots  on  credit,  and  build  them  small, 
convenient  houses,  my  condition  being  that  they  shall  furnish  one-third  of  the 
cost  of  the  houses  alone,  repaying  the  rest  in  easy  installments,  covering  a 
period  of  ten  or  a  dozen  years,  if  they  desire  it. 

The  Bridgeport  Hospital  was  inaugurated  November  11,  1884.  His  Excellency 
William  B.  Harrison,  Governor  of  the  State,  and  the  Mayors  of  all  the  cities  in 
Connecticut  were  among  the  numerous  distinguished  guests,  including  promi- 
nent physicians  from  New  York  and  elsewhere.  A  banquet,  music  and  speeches 
occupied  four  hours.  As  president  of  this  noble  institution  I  made  the  opening 
speech  and  congratulated  the  audience  on  being  present  at  this  dedication  of  a 


MY    FIFTH    GKEAT    FIRE.  355 

Church,  the  "Church  of  Good  Works,"  where  the  Good  Samaritan  stood  far 
above  priest  or  levite,  and  where  persons  of  all  creeds  could  worship  in  harmony 
and  love. 

On  the  16th  of  December,  1884,  the  Mayor  and  Common  Council  of  Bridge- 
port passed  a  vote  of  thanks  for  one  thousand  dollars  placed  by  me  in  the  City 
Treasury  for  the  purchase  annually  of  two  gold  medals  to  be  presented  to  the 
two  students  in  the  ' '  Bridgeport  High  School "  who  shall  write  and  pronounce 
the  best  two  English  orations. 

The  corporation  known  as  the  "  Bridgeport  Hydraulic  Company,"  of  which  I 
was  president,  was  unable,  in  consequence  of  the  rapid  growth  of  the  city,  to 
furnish  that  "abundant  supply  of  pure  water"  which  its  charter  required, 
without  obtaining  it  from  some  other  source  than  the  Pequonnock  River. 

By  acquiring  the  rights  of  Mill  River,  a  stream  of  great  volume  and  purity, 
and  bringing  it  through  very  large  pipes  some  eight  miles  into  the  city,  Bridge- 
port has  now  a  water-power  whose  natural  force  throws  a  stream  over  the  tops 
of  its  highest  buildings,  and  thus  renders  the  use  of  fire  engines  unnecessary. 
This  great  blessing  will  largely  enhance  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  our 
beautiful  and  thrifty  city.  Prominent  among  our  finest  buildings  is  the  Sea 
Side  Institute,  erected  by  Drs.  I  de  Ver  and  Lucian  Warner,  as  a  club-house  for 
the  fifteen  hundred  women  employed  in  their  corset  factory.  Perfectly  ap- 
pointed, with  parlors,  music-rooms  (two  Stein  way  pianos),  sewing-rooms,  bath- 
rooms, restaurant,  class-rooms,  library,  a  great  hall  accommodating  six  hun- 
dred people  (with  stage,  etc.),  this  Institute  is  as  unique  in  elegance  as  it  is 
in  purpose.  Mrs.  Cleveland,  wife  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  paid 
to  the  Warner  Brothers'  generous  gift  the  fitting  and  graceful  tribute  of 
signifying  her  willingness  to  open  the  Institute  in  person.  The  occasion  was  a 
•*most  enjoyable  one  for  the  working  women,  every  one  of  whom  Mrs.  Cleveland 
took  by  the  hand,  and  for  the  few  guests  invited,  among  whom  were  my  wife 
and  myself.  Excellent  speeches  were  made  by  the  Rev.  Drs.  Collyer  and 
Taylor,  of  New  York,  and  the  formal  opening  of  the  Institute  was  greeted 
with  an  appreciative  enthusiasm  well  merited  by  the  founders. 

The  beautiful  Sea-side  Park  in  Bridgeport,  whose  beginning  twenty  years 
ago  I  described  in  Chapter  XLV.,  has  now  become  the  most  lovely  Park  which 
lies  on  Long  Island  Sound.  On  several  occasions  it  has  been  enlarged  by  valu- 
able land  fronting  the  Sound  presented  by  me.  My  last  gift  of  thirty  acres  at 
the  West  end,  on  which,  including  the  Dyke  and  original  purchase  money,  I 
had  expended  more  than  fifty  thousand  dollars,  extends  the  Park  boundary  to 
a  creek,  which  in  the  near  future  the  City  of  Bridgeport  will  bridge,  thus 
extending  the  shore  drive  to  Fairfield,  Southport,  Westport  and  Norwalk,  a 
distance  of  fourteen  miles.  At  an  expense  of  $90,000  I  filled  up  forty-five  acres 
of  low,  marshy  land,  owned  by  me,  adjoining  the  Park,  raising  it  six  feet. 
This  expensive  improvement  has  materially  enhanced  the  beauty  of  the  Park 
and  will  be  a  great  public  benefit. 

As  I  close  this  volume  I  am  more  thankful  than  words  can  express  that  my 
health  is  preserved,  and  that  I  am  blessed  with  a  vigor  and  buoyancy  of  spirits 
vouchsafed  to  but  few  ;  but  I  am  by  no  means  insensible  to  the  fact  that  I  have 
reached  the  evening  of  life  (which  is  well  lighted,  however),  and  I  am  glad  to 


356  MY    FIFTH    GREAT    FIRE. 

know  that  though  this  is  indeed  a  beautiful,  delightful  world  to  those  who 
have  the  temperament,  the  resolution,  and  the  judgment  to  make  it  so,  yet  it 
happily  is  not  our  abiding-place  ;  and  that  he  is  unwise  who  sets  his  heart  so 
firmly  upon  its  transitory  pleasures  as  to  feel  a  reluctance  to  obey  the  call  when 
his  Father  makes  it,  to  leave  all  behind  and  to  come  up  higher,  in  that  Great 
Future,  when  all  that  we  now  prize  so  highly  (except  our  love  to  God  and  man) 
shall  dwindle  into  insignificance. 
WALDEMERE,  BRIDGEPORT,  CONN.,  1888. 


POSTSCRIPT. 
Appended  is  the  first  proclamation  of  the  new  firm  of  Barnum  &  Bailey  : 

AN  OPEN  LETTER. 

WALDEMERE,  BRIDGEPORT,  Conn.,  Dec.  1,  1887. 

Rising,  Phoenix-like,  from  the  ashes  of  my  fifth  great  fire,  which  only  served 
to  illuminate  my  path  of  duty  as  the  American  people's  champion  amusement 
provider,  I  have  taken  into  equal  partnership  my  energetic  and  experienced 
friend  and  former  associate,  JAMES  A.  BAILEY.  We  have  enlarged  and  vastly 
improved  The  Greatest  Show  on  Earth,  which  we  propose  to  establish  as  a  per- 
manence, with  a  reserve  capital  of  several  millions  of  dollars.  We  also  intend 
at  an  early  date  to  establish  in  all  our  principal  cities  great  museums  of  natural 
and  artificial  curiosities,  to  which  will  be  added  a  spacious  lecture  room  for 
scientific  experiments  and  historical  lectures,  panoramas,  pantomimes  and  light 
entertainments  of  a  pleasing  and  general  nature.  The  Barnum  &  Bailey  Show 
will  present  to  this  and  future  generations  a  WORLD'S  FAIR  and  a  moral  SCHOOL 
OP  OBJECT  TEACHING,  of  unexampled  variety  and  superior  excellence,  more 
amusing,  instructive,  comprehensive  and  vast  than  was  ever  before  seen  or 
dreamed  of.  It  is  the  pride  of  my  declining  years  that  I  am  able  to  give,  as  the 
result  of  my  long  life  of  experience  and  determined  effort,  that  innocent  and 
educational  diversion  which  everyone  concedes  that  human  nature  imperatively 
demands. 

The  public's  obedient  servant, 

PHINEAS  T.  BARNUM. 


MR.   BAILEY'S   POLICY. 

In  re-entering  the  amusement  field  by  becoming  Mr.  P.  T.  Barnum's  equal 
and  sole  partner,  and  assuming  the  personal  management  of  the  great  combined 
exhibitions  bearing  our  names,  I  respectfully  avail  myself  of  the  opportunity 
afforded  to  briefly  and  plainly  state  the  basis  upon  which  they  are  organized, 
the  principles  upon  which  they  will  be  conducted,  and  the  policy  that  will, 
under  all  circumstances,  be  rigidly  enforced  and  adhered  to. 

I  have  returned  to  the  show  business  to  stay,  so  long  as  my  health  and  life 
are  spared,  and  to  do  my  full  share,  in  not  only  placing  and  maintaining  the 
Great  Barnum  &  Bailey  World's  Fair  of  Wonders  upon  a  far  higher,  broader 
and  more  liberal  plane  than  was  ever  attained  by  any  similar  enterprise,  b»t 
to  continually  enlarge  its  possessions  and  strengthen  its  popularity. 


MY  FIFTH  GREAT  FIRE.  357 

The  partnership  is  not  a  temporary,  but  a  permanent  one,  equally  binding 
upon  both  partners,  their  heirs,  administrators,  executors,  or  assigns  ;  and  the 
death  of  either  of  them  will  in  no  wise  affect  the  existence  and  continuation  of 
the  show. 

It  is  not  an  experiment,  but  a  solid,  established  business  enterprise,  whose 
name  and  character  are  continuous  and  permanent. 

It  will  never,  under  any  circumstances,  or  at  any  time  or  place,  be  divided, 
and  the  malicious  circulators  of  libels  or  slanders  to  the  contrary  will  be  prose- 
cuted and  punished  to  the  full  extent  of  the  law. 

It  will  be  honestly  advertised. 

The  whole  of  it  will  always  be  exhibited  in  every  place,  large  or  small, 
wherever  it  is  advertised  to  appear,  and  in  no  place  will  a  single  feature  or  act 
be  omitted. 

The  magnificent  free  street  pageant  will  never  be  anywhere  curtailed  by  the 
omission  of  a  single  attraction. 

Its  menagerie  and  museum  tent  will  never  be  taken  down  at  night,  until 
after  the  conclusion  of  both  the  circus  and  hippodrome  performances. 

The  afternoon  and  evening  performances  will  invariably  be  equally  complete, 
perfect  and  satisfactory,  and,  under  no  circumstances,  will  the  evening  perform- 
ance be,  in  the  slightest  degree,  abbreviated,  cut,  or  neglected  ;  but  each  and 
every  act  thereof  will  be  presented  according  to  the  printed  programme. 

The  convenience  and  pleasure  of  its  patrons  will  be  specially  considered. 

It  will  be  a  place  which  an  unattended  child  can  visit  with  perfect  safety. 

Its  employees  will  be  required  to  deal  fairly  and  courteously  with  all,  and  to 
answer  all  proper  questions  intelligently  and  politely. 

No  peddling  will  be  permitted  under  its  tents. 

No  camp-followers,  street  fakirs,  gamblers,  or  disreputable  or  intoxicated 
persons  will  be  tolerated  on  its  grounds. 

Everything  in  the  slightest  degree  calculated  to  offend  or  annoy  its  patrons 
will  be  absolutely  prohibited.  Morality,  purity  and  refinement  will  be  the  rule 
without  exception. 

I  shall  always  be  present  to  investigate  any  complaints  and  to  strictly 
enforce  the  above  regulations,  and  all  others  that  may  be  necessary  to  protect 
both  the  public  and  our  own  good  name. 

JAMES  A.  BAILEY. 


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